


Assassin Ianto: Children Of Earth

by cazmalfoy



Series: Assassin Ianto [7]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-20
Updated: 2013-10-20
Packaged: 2017-12-29 23:04:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 31,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1011156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cazmalfoy/pseuds/cazmalfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The 456 have invaded Earth and Torchwood race to destroy them before Earth's children are decimated. But what is wrong with Jack, and how will his relationship with Ianto survive the choice he makes?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is set during the 23rd Century.

Chapter 1

The Accident and Emergency department of Cardiff Hospital was loud and busy as nurses ran from one workstation to another. Doctors jogged up and down the corridor, dashing from room to room.

“Are you sure we should be here?” Ianto asked, putting his hands in his pockets and turning so he had his back to the camera; he didn’t want anyone reading his lips or overhearing their conversation.

Jack nodded his head, turning also and pretending to look at something on the wall behind them. “Julian wouldn’t have called us if he didn’t think something was wrong. Besides, you saw the readings,” he replied, “this guy’s got Rift energy all over him. There’s a hitchhiker inside him; just like all the other victims. Why else would a perfectly healthy man drop dead for no reason?”

“We don’t know he’s dead yet,” Ianto argued. “You never know, he might be…”

“I’m sorry,” a male voice spoke from behind them and the couple turned to face the Indian doctor they had seen working on Mr Williams. “We did everything we could but… He didn’t make it.”

“Oh that’s a shame,” Jack let out a regretful breath.

“Poor old Mr Williams,” Ianto agreed, looking upset. 

Jack reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder, comforting the assassin. “We were his neighbours. Stopped by from time to time. Would it… Can we…”

“Could we say goodbye?” Ianto finished for Jack, reaching up and squeezing his partner’s hand.

The doctor nodded his head and urged them down the short corridor to where Mr Williams’ deceased body had been placed. “I’ll just… I’ll give you two a moment,” he murmured, drawing the curtain around the small area and leaving them in peace.

“That was almost too easy,” Ianto muttered the instant the curtain was drawn. “I thought playing up the couple thing was a nice touch. He looked as though he didn’t know what to do.”

“All this time and people still aren’t completely accepting,” Jack muttered, pulling the sheet back off the body and sighing deeply. “Have you got the laser knife?”

Ianto raised an eyebrow and reached into his pocket. “Of course,” he replied, handing it to his partner and ducking down, looking in the cupboard beside the bed for something he could put their alien in. “One of these days you will remember to pick up equipment before we leave. I hate having to hunt around for things.”

“We didn’t have time,” Jack replied, activating the laser and easily cutting through Mr Williams’ skin. “Are you ready?” he asked, looking over at Ianto as he grabbed a pair of medical tongs.

Ianto nodded his head, trying not to grimace as Jack reached into the incision with the tongs and beginning to dig around looking for the hitchhiker.

“Sorry, one more…” the doctor said, pulling back the curtain just as Jack managed to pull the alien from Mr Williams’ body. 

His surprised gaze moved from Jack, to the alien he was holding, then back to Jack. “What?” he exclaimed.

Jack grinned. “Look at that. That’s not human, is it? Does it look human? No, it does not. It’s just a hitchhiker he picked up along the way somewhere. I doubt it’s what killed him though.”

“Some say they’re actually beneficial,” Ianto added, holding the container he’d found out to Jack, allowing him to place the alien inside. “Apparently they release endorphins into the bloodstream. He died a happy man.”

“That’s the way I’d like to go,” Jack commented, leering at Ianto and making the assassin roll his eyes. “We’re very considerate. We’ll be taking this with us.” He nodded to the alien Ianto was holding and pulled out the laser scalpel. “And we don’t leave any mess,” he added, reversing the setting and sealing Mr Williams’ wound once more.

“Thanks very much,” Ianto said, smiling at the doctor as he pocketed the scalpel and sealed the container. 

“We’ll just get out of your way,” Jack grinned, brushing past the doctor and leaving the hospital with Ianto behind him.

The doctor ran after them, following them all the way to the car park. “Wait a minute. That was mutilation. I should report you!”

“Then why don’t you?” Jack challenged, pulling the car door open and sliding into driver’s seat. “Try putting what you saw into a report, that’ll be fun.”

The doctor stared at the car in surprise. “You’re Torchwood?” he spluttered, pointing at the vehicle.

Jack shrugged his shoulders. “Never heard of ‘em,” he muttered, moving to close the door.

Before he managed to shut the door, the doctor told him, “There are bodies going missing.”

Jack frowned, finally closing the door, but rolling the window down so he could hear what the doctor was saying. “How many?” he asked.

“This whole city talks about you-,”

“What bodies?” Jack pressed, not caring for anything else the doctor had to say. “Where?”

The doctor sighed. “It started two months ago. Bodies are taken down to the mortuary, but that’s where the paper trail ends. There’s been five of them. Five in two months. None of them have been white, either. West Indian, African, three Chinese. And all of them have been male.”

Jack looked over at Ianto, who was looking at the doctor curiously. “What was your name again?” he asked, looking back at the young man beside the car.

“Rupesh,” he replied. “Rupesh Patanjali.”

The Captain looked back over at his partner and raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?” he asked, nodding to Rupesh. 

Ianto shrugged his shoulders. “NHS,” he replied. “Can’t believe they still exist.”

“Yeah,” Jack breathed in agreement. “Too much red tape. Sorry,” he apologised, looking over at Rupesh. “Good luck with it, though.”

He rolled the window up and pressed his foot to the accelerator, tearing out of the car park. 

“Do you think he’ll bite?” Ianto asked, looking back at Rupesh who was staring after them. 

Jack shrugged his shoulders, focusing on the road in front of him. “It worked with Gwen,” he replied, flashing his trademark smile. “Only time will tell.”

“Time we don’t have, Will,” Ianto sighed, looking out of the window. “We’ve been without a medic for months now. We can’t afford to be choosy. It’s fine for us, but Mark and…”

“I know,” Jack snapped, his eyes flicking away from the road for a moment, before looking back. “Replacing Denys isn’t-,”

“It’s not replacing,” Ianto argued. “It’s finding another medic.”

Jack reached over and squeezed his partner’s thigh. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, not moving his hand back. “I know you were close to him.”

Ianto smiled through tears that were threatening to spill over and placed his hand over Jack’s. “Part and parcel to the whole being immortal thing isn’t it?” he replied.

“Doesn’t make it any easier,” Jack argued. “If anything, I think it makes it harder.” He looked over at Ianto before grinning widely, “We wouldn’t have this problem if Julian wasn’t so damn stubborn and would accept my job offer.”

Ianto snorted with laughter and rolled his eyes. “I do not want to imagine you two working together. Every single time you have been in the same room, you’ve almost come to blows. You’re worse than stags butting antlers. You weren’t this bad with Rhys.”

“Rhys wasn’t married to my youngest son,” Jack pointed out.

“Mark and Julian have been married for almost three years now. You should be over the protective parent thing,” Ianto argued. “Stop nagging him about Torchwood, okay? He has a perfectly acceptable job already and he’s very respected in the position he’s in,” Ianto said patiently. “If he doesn’t want to work for Torchwood, leave him be.”

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“About time!” Mark Harkness-Jones exclaimed when the cog door rolled back and the couple stumbled in, chuckling to themselves. “Where have you two been? On second thought, I don’t think I want to know.”

Jack grinned and patted his son on the shoulder. “What are you doing here? I thought I’d given you the day off?”

Mark shook his head. “I swapped my days so I could have Wednesday off instead.” Jack looked at him blankly. “I asked you a week ago, Dad.”

Jack looked over at Ianto, who nodded his head. “Okay, I’m losing my mind.” He glared at Ianto, before the assassin could even open his mouth. “Shut it!” he ordered.

“What the-?” Mark breathed, staring at the computer in confusion. “Well, that can’t be right.”

“What can’t?” Jack asked, looking over the young man’s shoulder. “Seventeen road traffic accidents? That doesn’t look like it’s got anything to do with us.”

“The accidents happened between 8.40 and 8.41,” Mark added, tapping away at the computer. “And all of them involving children.”

“That’s the school run,” Ianto supplied with a roll of his eyes; he had done that same run more times that he cared to admit. He tapped away at the keyboard, bringing up more reports. “Same reports from France. Fifteen accidents, all of them involving children. RTA’s in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Luxemburg…”

He began to run through a list of different countries, all of them with reported accidents involving children.

“Have you seen anything like this before, Dad?” Mark asked, looking over his shoulder at Jack.

The Captain shook his head, moving from computer to computer as he tried to help Ianto find more reports. “Never. I’m going to call Vin,” he decided, stepping away from the computer and heading to the office.

“Don’t you dare!” Ianto shouted after him. “He’s on his honeymoon. How would you like it if we’d been disturbed?”

Jack turned around, raising an eyebrow. “We were,” he reminded the assassin. “One of your old flames came calling, if I remember correctly.”

Ianto rolled his eyes, ordering himself not to blush. “He wasn’t a flame,” he argued weakly; both of them knew he was lying, but he wasn’t about to give Jack the satisfaction of telling him that. “He was just… a friend.”

Jack smirked. “Yeah, sure he was. A ‘friend’,” he winked at Mark.

“Oh, just fuck off and find someone to call,” Ianto snapped, pushing Jack into his office. “We’ll need someone on the inside to help us out.”

“Tad?” Mark called when Jack had disappeared into his office. “You know that doctor you asked me to keep an eye out for?”

“He’s come back?” Ianto asked, grinning from ear to ear as he moved to the computer. “What’s he doing?”

“Waiting,” Mark replied. “What did you do, just let him follow you here?”

Ianto shook his head. “Ask about Torchwood and most people point to the Bay. He’s probably just hoping he’ll get lucky and catch us.”

“UNIT base in Washington has run some tests on a couple of kids,” Jack said, exiting his office and stalking over to them. “Everything is normal. That’s not porn,” he added, nodding to the computer screen.

“You’re the only boss who encourages the watching of porn during work hours,” Mark commented.

“The making of it isn’t exactly prohibited, either.” Jack wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Ianto.

“We’re not alone, you know,” Ianto pointed to Mark.

Mark waved his hand distractedly. “Don’t worry about it. After all these years, I’m pretty much deaf to you two anyway.”

Jack folded his arms across his chest and scowled at his son. “Considering how often you don’t listen to us, I find that very easy to believe. He took the bait then?” he added, looking at the computer screen and seeing Rupesh.

“You knew he was going to,” Ianto retorted. “He’s been there about…”

“Twenty minutes,” Mark supplied.

“He’s persistent,” Jack complimented.

“A good sign for Torchwood,” Ianto nodded. “One of us should go talk to him,” he added.

Mark looked between his parents and rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. “I suppose that would be me, then,” he heaved another sigh and pushed past Jack and Ianto. “You owe me a drink later,” he shouted as he jogged over to the cog door.

Jack smirked and looked over at Ianto. “What are we going to do while he’s talking to Rupesh?” he asked, a suggestive tone in his voice.

Ianto shrugged his shoulders and rolled his sleeves up. “Don’t know about you, but I’ve got stuff to do in the archives.” He let out a laugh at the disappointed look on Jack’s face.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Have there been any more reports of children speaking?” Ianto asked, looking up at the house in front of him.

“They’re coming through thick and fast,” Mark answered on the other end of the phone. “From a ton of other countries. All the footage is the same. All the kids are speaking English and they’re all saying the same thing: We are coming.”

“Any word on who ‘we’ are?” Ianto asked, locking the car door behind him.

“Nothing so far,” Mark replied. “Oh god,” he breathed.

“What?” Ianto asked in alarm.

“Severn Bridge. I’m going into England. Farewell forever,” Mark answered.

Ianto laughed and rolled his eyes. “What are you going there for?”

“Dad found a video the police had been emailed of a man saying the same thing as the kids. We drew straws and I, apparently, got the shorter one.”

“Have you got currency?” Ianto chuckled.

“Yeah. And I’ve had my jabs,” Mark laughed. “Talk to you later.”

Still chuckling to himself, Ianto cancelled the call and slipped the phone into his pocket before opening the gate and heading down the path. As he reached out, pressing his finger against the doorbell, he noted that the paint on the wooden door needed a new coat and made a mental note to offer to help later.

He was about to try again when the door opened, revealing a dark haired woman. “Ah, I thought so,” she sighed, seeing him standing on the porch. “Something strange happens and one of you inevitably turns up on my doorstep.”

Before Ianto could answer, there was a cry of, “Grandpa!” and Stephen ran from the kitchen, down the hallway and straight into the immortal’s arms.

Ianto grinned and hoisted Stephen into the air. “Hey, kid,” he greeted, stepping past Alice and entering the house. “How you doing?”

Alice sighed and shook her head. “Why don’t you come in?” she muttered, closing the door behind them and following the pair into the kitchen, only half-listening as they chattered away happily.

“I spoke like an alien,” Stephen informed Ianto.

“Did you?” Ianto replied, looking mock-surprised even though he had already suspected that something similar had happened.

Stephen nodded his head seriously and wriggled down from Ianto’s arms. “Are you going to come play?” he asked, grabbing a black and white football and looking up at his grandfather eagerly.

Ianto grinned and ruffled his grandson’s hair. “I’m going to have a drink with your mum first. Then I’ll be out,” he assured him.

Both he and Alice watched as Stephen ran from the house and began kicking the football around the backyard. 

“You’re not taking him with you, Tad,” Alice said the instant the backdoor had shut.

Ianto looked at her with an affronted expression. “Come on, Alice. Give me a bit of credit. You wanted space from the family and we gave you that.”

“To an extent,” Alice argued. “Neither you nor Dad have fully stepped back.”

“And we’re not going to,” Ianto replied, not getting angry; it was an old argument and they had had it countless times before. “I don’t see what the big deal is. Joe isn’t around anymore. He’s-,”

“Off in Italy. With her,” Alice replied, disgust lacing her voice. “They finally got married.” 

Ianto shrugged his shoulders, uncaring about his ex-son-in-law’s new bride. “Good,” he growled. “He’s lucky he’s not within shooting range.”

Alice glared at him, although the corners of her mouth were threatening to turn up into a smile. “He was so terrified you’d actually shoot him.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That you were being serious about doing it,” she replied simply.

Ianto chuckled and nodded his head, before turning serious once more. “Has he been in touch with Stephen?” he asked, looking through the dining room window to the garden where his Grandson was kicking the football around.

“He calls when he can, I suppose. Still, there are worse fathers.” She paused and lowered her head, “I’m sorry. That wasn’t fair.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Ianto replied. “We have been nothing if not supportive of you and the choices you made. You wanted to drop out of school and backpack around Asia, and we supported you. Hell, we even paid for it. You came back after ten years, married and pregnant, and we supported you. Gave you a house and made sure you were taken care off. When Joe left, we-,”

“I get it, Tad,” Alice interrupted him. “And I am grateful for everything you and Dad have done. But… Look at me, Tad,” she sighed. “I look older than both you and Dad, and it’s never going to stop. Mark and I, we get older and older and you both stay the same. One day, you’re going to be standing at our funerals, looking exactly the same as you did at Rory and Nick’s. And Landon and Nathan’s.”

“Torchwood is all I’ve ever known, but I don’t want that for Stephen. I don’t want him to grow up with a pet dinosaur and knowing how to shoot a gun from the age of eleven.”

Ianto winced at the sting her words caused before sighing and getting to his feet, pulling his only daughter into his arms and hugging her tightly. “I know it wasn’t the best childhood, but it was the best we could do,” he whispered, pressing a kiss against the top of her head.

Alice sniffled and pulled back quickly when Stephen ran back into the kitchen. “Grandpa!” he cried, running over to Ianto and throwing his arms around him. “Are you coming to play yet?”

Ianto opened his mouth to reply, but Alice cut him off before he could speak. “Grandpa has to go back to work,” she said, looking pointedly at Ianto.

The assassin stared at her before slowly nodding his head. “I’ve got to go figure out why you started speaking like an alien,” he said, looking down at Stephen. “Sorry, kid. I’ll be back when all this is over though. Then we can go get ice cream or something.”

“Can Granddad come?” Stephen asked eagerly. “I miss him.”

Ianto grinned and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Of course he can,” he whispered. “It’ll be fun.”

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Rhiannon looked up from where she was placing flyers in envelopes and felt her eyes widen in surprise. “Jack? Bloody hell, it must be serious.”

Jack grinned and hugged her as she got to her feet to make him a drink. “I was in the neighbourhood and thought I’d stop by,” he shrugged, looking over at Rhiannon’s daughter. “How are they?” he asked in concern.

“A bit of a scare,” Rhiannon answered truthfully. “The school sent them home. Just in case. They didn’t know what to do with them.”

Jack nodded distractedly and ran his hand over Mica’s hair. “Here you go,” he said, handing her a ten-pound note.

Silently, the young girl took the money and turned back to the television. “Oi!” Rhiannon told her off. “Say thank you to your Granddad,” she ordered.

Mica turned and raised an eyebrow in a way that was so Ianto that Jack had to chuckle. “He’s not my Granddad,” she replied simply.

Jack chuckled and knelt next to her. “You’re right,” he agreed. “I’m your Great-Great-Great-Great-Granddad. But that’s a bit complicated, isn’t it?”

Mica frowned as she thought about it, before nodding her head. “Granddad is easier,” she agreed, lunging forward and hugging him tightly.

Jack grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before getting to his feet. “She’s looking more and more like Kat every day,” he commented, as Mica turned back to her computer game. 

Rhiannon smiled and continued stuffing things in envelopes. “From what I hear, that’s not such a bad thing, is it?” she asked.

“No,” Jack agreed. “She was gorgeous. But you all are, so that might be me being biased,” he grinned, before looking around the room. “Where’s David?” he asked.

Almost as if his name had summoned him, the young boy appeared, holding his hand out expectantly. 

“You shouldn’t give them anything,” Rhiannon commented when Jack slid a ten-pound note into his hand. “They’ve got you wrapped around their little fingers.”

“Typical Jones’,” Jack grinned. “Listen, Rhia, I was thinking I should take David and Mica out somewhere for a bit.”

“After what happened? You’re joking, right?” Rhiannon scoffed.

“Come on, Rhia,” Jack pressed. “You complain that we don’t see them enough, and then complain when we try.”

“No, Jack,” Rhiannon shook her head, sticking to her guns. “It’s not that I don’t trust you and Ianto, but after what happened today, I want them here where I can see them.”

Before Jack could reply, a car alarm sounded in the street outside and he immediately cursed, knowing full well which car the alarm was coming from. 

Together, he and Rhiannon ran out of the house, just in time to see the Torchwood SUV tearing off around the corner. “Shit,” Jack groaned, running his hand through his hair. “Ianto’s going to kill me,” he whined.

Rhiannon laughed and patted the Captain on the shoulder. “It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done that. And I doubt it’ll be the last,” she soothed.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ianto walked out of Alice’s, closing the door behind him and immediately pulled out his phone, calling Jack.

“No luck,” he greeted as soon as the call was connected.

“Damn,” Jack cursed. “Rhiannon was a no-go as well. Why did these kids have to be so stubborn?”

Ianto chuckled and rolled his eyes, closing the garden gate behind him. “We didn’t raise our children to be idiots, Will.”

Jack sighed and Ianto could practically see him running his hand through his hair. “What are we going to do now?” he asked.

“Do you have that doctor’s phone number?” Ianto questioned. “The one that told us about the bodies?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, hospitals have children’s wards, don’t they?”

Jack nodded. “That’s true.” He hesitated before asking, “Are you driving?” he asked. 

“No yet. Why?” he asked suspiciously.

The Captain grimaced and paid the taxi driver, getting out and looking up at the Hospital. “Would now be a bad time to tell you that I’ve lost the SUV? Again.”

There was silence on the other end of the line before Ianto exclaimed, “What?!”

~

Mark watched the man on the screen curiously. He had watched the video that had been emailed to the police and he couldn’t figure out why the man had been speaking the same words as every child on the planet.

“Timothy White,” the nurse informed him. “Fifty-two years old. He’s been with us… about three months.”

“Is this the first time he’s been in a place like this?” Mark asked, folding his arms across his chest.

The nurse shook her head. “He’s got a history of being in and out of care all his life. Spent forty years living in Leeds; that’s where he first came on record. He was found homeless, living on the streets at the age of eleven.”

“Eleven?” Mark exclaimed. “Wow,” he breathed. “I didn’t think people were homeless anymore.”

The nurse nodded her head. “The number of cases dropped for several years, but they seem to be on the increase again.”

“And there was nothing on file before then?” Mark asked, nodding to the screen in front of him.

She shook her head. “No, nothing,” she answered. “He just appeared in Leeds with no apparent memory of whom, or where, he was. He did have a Scottish accent though, but that’s long since vanished. He claimed his date of birth was 1958, but that’s not possible.”

Mark chuckled and shrugged his shoulders; he didn’t comment on what was possible and impossible. His very existence would push people’s ideas of what was possible. “Can I see him?” he asked.

The nurse nodded her head, “Follow me,” she instructed, turning on her heel and leaving the room. Mark followed closely behind her.

Halfway down the corridor, Mark’s phone began to ring loudly, making them both jump. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, pulling the phone out and glancing at the screen. 

“This had better be good,” he threatened, flipping the phone open and putting it to his ear. 

On the other end of the line, he could practically hear his partner’s pout. “It’s always a good thing when I call you.”

Mark sighed and rolled his eyes. “You’re the most egotistical person I have ever met,” he retorted, the corners of his mouth turning up in a smile; just the sound of the other man’s voice made him grin.

Julian laughed loudly. “Have you met your dad? Tall, dark, mediocre-looks, likes to be called ‘Captain’?”

“Don’t let him hear you say you think he’s mediocre-looking,” Mark laughed. 

In the background he could hear someone talking to his partner and he frowned deeply. “Are you still at work?” he asked accusingly.

“Yes,” Julian replied simply, sighing heavily. 

Mark could hear something shifting, and in his mind’s eye he could clearly see the other man using his shoulder to prop the phone up. “Shouldn’t you be seeing to patients?”

Julian barked out an order, presumably to a nurse, for the patient to be given more painkillers, before turning back to Mark and their conversation. “Unfortunately,” he finally answered. “That’s what I’m calling you for. Elizabeth has called in sick this morning-,”

“Probably something to do with the kids,” Mark commented. “Does her unexpected absence mean the chief A&E doctor is going to be late for dinner tonight?” he pre-empted Julian’s revelation.

Julian sighed. “Yeah,” he muttered regretfully. “I know we had reservations and I promise I’ll make it up to you, but-,”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mark cut him off mid-apology. “It’s not the first time we’ve had to cancel because of work, and I doubt it’ll be the last. Besides, I’ve had to chase up a lead for Dad and I don’t know how long this will take. You might even be home before me at this rate.”

Julian snorted with laughter. “I wouldn’t count on it,” he muttered. “Look, I’m going to have to go. I’ll try to give you a call when I go on my break; if I manage to get a break. All these accidents have thrown everything into chaos.”

Mark smiled. “Don’t work yourself too hard,” he instructed. “I love you.”

“Same applies for you, then,” Julian retorted. “Love you too. Talk to you later.”

He snapped the phone closed and smiled apologetically at the nurse who had stopped in front of a door. “Sorry about that,” he murmured.

She shook her head, a smile on her face. “It’s not a problem. Sounds like this has happened at an unfortunate time,” she commented. 

Mark laughed and followed her into the room. “He’s a doctor, and I work for the government; it makes a change I’m not the one cancelling on him.”

If the nurse was surprised at Mark’s reference to his partner being male she didn’t show it. Instead she headed over to the table in the centre of the room and the man sat at it. “Timothy,” she said, her voice soft and just that little bit condescending. “Timothy, there’s someone here to see you.”

“I don’t care,” the older man snapped, turning away from them and refusing to look at Mark. “Tell them to go away.”

Mark nodded to the nurse, indicating that she should leave them alone, adding, “It’s okay. I’ll be fine,” to reassure her.

When the woman left, Mark sat in his seat and placed his hands on his lap under the table. “It’s just us now, Mr White,” he said. “My name’s Mark, I’m from Torchwood.”

Timothy didn’t react to the sound of Mark’s voice, but the young man continued nevertheless. “Do you remember the voice?” he asked gently. “You said ‘We are coming’. Can you remember why?”

He didn’t react, and Mark sighed to himself. The indirect approach was getting him nowhere and he didn’t fancy being stuck there all night trying to get answers from Timothy. “Do you know what I think it was?” he finally asked. “I think it was aliens.”

“There’s no such thing,” Timothy finally spoke; the nurse had been right. His Scottish accent had long since been lost, replaced by a Yorkshire one. 

Mark snorted with laughter. “I know you don’t believe that for a second,” he replied. “I don’t want to scare you, but I think aliens are using you to speak. What do you think?” He didn’t want to assure the other man that he was safe when he couldn’t promise that for certain.

“There’s no such thing,” Timothy repeated with a shake of his head.

“I’ve met aliens,” Mark stated. “Tons of ‘em. It’s my job – my life, actually. But I’m not the authorities, or the police, or the army. Torchwood is separate from all that. We don’t answer to anyone but ourselves. Anything you say stays between us. You don’t have to worry about what you say not being believed. Trust me; if anyone is going to understand what you say, it’s going to be me.”

Timothy finally lifted his head and stared at Mark for a long moment, making the other man slightly uncomfortable. “Give me your hand,” he eventually spoke.

Mark frowned deeply and hesitated for a second before placing his left hand, palm up, on the table in front of him. Nothing in the world could make him place his right hand there. That was his gun hand.

Before the young man could react, Timothy reached across the table and grabbed his wrist, dragging his hand closer and smelling it. “You’re telling the truth,” he exclaimed, releasing Mark’s wrist and sitting back in his chair.

“You can tell that by smelling me?” Mark asked in surprise, wiping his hand on his jeans under the table without Timothy noticing.

Timothy nodded his head. “You’ve met them,” he stated, an almost accusatory tone in his voice.

“Yes, I have,” Mark agreed. “That’s why you’re okay to talk to me.”

“It’s still not safe,” Timothy argued. “They’re watching.” He eyes flickered up to the security camera.

Seeing where he was looking, Mark smiled and reached into his pocket. “Oh. Well, that’s easily fixed,” he replied, putting out what looked like a pen and depressing the silver button on top.

Almost immediately, the red light on the camera went out and Timothy’s eyes widened in surprise. “How did you do that?” he stammered, looking back at Mark.

He grinned and slid the device back into his pocket. “I can’t tell you all my secrets,” he replied mysteriously. “But now it really is just us. And I think I’m not the only one in this room who’s seen aliens.”

Timothy sniffled and looked away, once again refusing to answer his question. “What’s your name?” Mark asked. “I know Timothy White is a lie. What’s your real name?”

Timothy shook his head, but made the mistake of looking up and into Mark’s wide blue eyes. “C… Clement McDonald,” he whispered, looking around fearfully as though all the plagues of the world were about to come crashing down on him. “I… I was just a kid.”

“What happened?” Mark asked, trying to be as gentle as possible.

“They… They took us out,” Clement whispered, staring down at the table in front of him. “In the night. In the dark. They told us; they said we were going to a new home.”

“Who did?” Mark asked, leaning forward a little. “Who said you were going to a new home?”

“I don’t know. They drove us for miles,” Clement continued. “They were there. In the sky.”

“What did they look like?” Mark pressed, glad that they finally appeared to getting somewhere.

“A bright light,” Clement murmured. “There was a light. It… It took them. My friends.”

“But it didn’t take you,” Mark observed. 

“I ran,” Clement said. “I ran as fast as I could. They vanished after that.”

Mark nodded and reached over, placing his hand on Clement’s arm. “That’s right. They’ve gone.”

“But they’re coming back,” Clement said. “I ran. Ran away for years. It must have been years because the world changed. Everything is so different now. They’re telling me it’s the twenty-third century, but that’s not possible. I was born in the nineteen hundreds. How is that possible?”

“I don’t know,” Mark confessed; he wasn’t entirely sure if he believed Clement had been born in 1958, but he wasn’t going to say anything at that moment.

“I’ve been smelling them for months. In the air.”

“I can help,” Mark assured him. “Trust me, I will look into this as much as I can and will find out everything that happened. I swear. But you have to trust me. Do we have a deal?” Mark asked, holding his hand out to shake Clement’s.

Clement stared at him for a moment before placing his hand in Mark’s. Suddenly he took a deep breath, smelling the air around them, before his eyes widened. “But that can’t be… You’re a man,” he breathed.

“What?” Mark frowned in confusion.

“You’re… You’re pregnant,” Clement murmured. “I can smell it. But you’re a man.”

“What?” Mark practically shouted, jumping to his feet and knocking the chair over.

“Three weeks. You’re a man, but you’re pregnant.”

~

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

All the way back to Cardiff, Mark had been replaying the conversation with Clement over and over in his head. He couldn’t be pregnant. It just wasn’t possible.

Mark sighed and pressed the door release in the tourist office, watching as the secret passageway was revealed. He wasn’t entirely sure who he was trying to kid. It was very possible he could be pregnant with his partner’s baby.

Thanks to their fifty-first century genetic make-up, every male in Mark’s family had been able to bear children; although most of them hadn’t. Out of Jack and Ianto’s children, Rory had been the only one to have a male partner besides Mark, and therefore, he had been the only one pregnant. Being the youngest, Mark had never seen either of his parents pregnant, so he wasn’t sure what to expect. 

He was in that much of a world of his own that when the cog door rolled open and Ianto demanded, “Why haven’t you been answering your phone?” 

Mark jumped out of his skin. “What?” the young man blinked, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

Ianto rolled his eyes. “I’ve been trying to call you for the past two hours. Where the hell were you?”

“I’ve told you,” Mark replied distractedly. “I went to see that man in the video.”

Ianto sighed. “Yes, well wherever you went was rife with Rift energy.”

Mark shrugged his jacket off and headed over to the medical bay; he wanted to see if Clement had been right. And he only knew one way to do that quickly. “That’s not possible,” he added, realising what Ianto had actually said and turning to look back at his father. “The place I went was nowhere near the Rift.”

“What did you find out about Timothy White?” Ianto asked.

“That his real name is Clement McDonald; don’t know if that’s ‘Mc’ or ‘Mac’, though,” Mark replied. “And he was born in 1957, which the nurses all think is impossible.”

“Do you have a Rift activity monitor on you?” Ianto asked, tapping away at the computer screen. 

“Of course.” Mark rolled his eyes. “Standard Torchwood kit, isn’t it? Why? You don’t think Clement has somehow come through the Rift, do you?”

Ianto shrugged his shoulders. “Anything is possible; you should know that by now. Where is he from? Did he say any-,” he trailed off as he turned around and saw that Mark wasn’t actually standing there anymore. “Fine,” he muttered, turning back to the computer and his work. “I’ll talk to myself.”

Not even five minutes after Mark’s arrival, the cog door rolled open once more and Jack stepped into the Hub, looking pale and tired.

“Where have you been?” Ianto asked, noticing his partner’s pallor. 

“The hospital,” Jack answered jogging up the stairs and brushing past him on his way to his office. “Rupesh is dead.”

“They killed him?” Ianto questioned in surprise, finally turning away from the computer. He wouldn’t have thought there was anything worrisome about the doctor. “Who the hell’s doing this?” he asked.

Even though Ianto’s question had been rhetorical, Jack still felt compelled to answer him. “I don’t know,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

“Did they kill you?” Ianto asked, even though he knew the question was moot; he could see the exit wound on the Captain’s back. His coat would need repairing. Again.

“Yeah,” Jack admitted. The word was barely out of his mouth when he found himself with an armful of an immortal assassin. “What was that for?” he asked when Ianto pulled away.

“I know how much being killed hurts,” Ianto whispered, pressing a soft kiss to Jack’s lips. “Go see Mark,” he said, nudging his partner in the direction of the medical bay.

“Why?” Jack asked, frowning deeply as he headed across the Hub.

“He went to see Clement – the guy in the video – and then vanished in there almost as soon as he got back. Make sure he’s okay,” he instructed.

Jack frowned deeper and jogged down the few stairs that would take him into the medical bay. “Hey, kid,” he greeted, leaning on the railing. “Your tad said there was some-?” he broke off, seeing the image projected on the wall. “Is that…? Is that what I think it is?”

Mark nodded his head mutely, still staring at the image; seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing. Jack grinned and ran down the stairs, hugging his son tightly and pressing a kiss on his cheek. “That’s brilliant! Isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Mark assured him with a rush of breath. “It’s brilliant.”

“Ianto!” Jack shouted through to the main Hub where the assassin was. “We’re having a baby!”

“What? That’s not possible!” Ianto exclaimed, rushing into the medical bay with a look of alarm on his face. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the Jack wasn’t the one with his hand on the scanner. “Don’t do that to me, you bastard!” he scowled, glaring at Jack.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Not me, you idiot.” He indicated to Mark. 

“Congratulations,” Ianto grinned down at their son. “What has Julian said?”

“He doesn’t know,” Mark confessed, still staring at the image. “I’ve just found out myself.”

Ianto winced. “You told us before him. Boy, he’s going to love that.”

“God, Dad,” Mark breathed, finally tearing his gaze away from the wall. “What am I going to do about work? Torchwood is hardly baby friendly.”

Jack shushed him. “It’s okay,” he reassured the young man. “You’re not the only Torchwood employee who’s had kids. Your tad and I have done this loads of times. We’ll help you out.” 

He placed his hand over Mark’s, which was still on the scanner. The alien device instantly recognised the new presence and quickly scanned Jack’s hand as well, projecting his image on the wall.

Immediately the claxon began to sound and a warning alert flashed up on the wall.

“What the fuck is that?” Mark demanded, staring at the image.

“There’s a bomb in your stomach,” Ianto whispered, dread filling his own. “Oh god.”

Immediately, Jack sprang into action, pulling Mark from the medical bay. “You need to get out of here,” he ordered his son.

“No!” Mark retorted, “There must be something we can do.”

“I don’t know how large the blast radius is going to be,” Ianto added, tapping away at the keyboard.

“There must be something we can do!” Mark repeated, trying to pull himself from Jack’s grip.

“There is,” Jack agreed. “Get out of here.”

“I’m not going to just leave you here, Dad!”

“You’re pregnant, Mark,” Jack reminded him.

The young man stared at Jack for a long moment before fleeing the Hub; Jack was right, he had to get out of there.

“Ianto, what are you still doing here?” Jack asked, jogging over to his partner who was still standing by the computer. “If you don’t get out now, you’ll be trapped.”

“So?” Ianto muttered, not looking away from the computer. “It won’t kill me for good. Won’t kill you either.”

“We don’t know that,” Jack argued. “I’ve never been blown up before.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Ianto retorted, continuing to tap away at his computer. “What the fuck?” he exclaimed, when he felt Jack’s hands tighten around his arms and felt himself lifted off the ground. “Put me down.”

“No,” Jack argued, carrying Ianto over to the lift. “You’re not getting blown up as well because of me.”

“It won’t do me any damage,” Ianto snapped, struggling against Jack as he tried to break free. 

“Yes, it will,” Jack argued, finally putting Ianto down. “You need to protect Mark, Rhiannon, Alice… And every other member of our family.” He crashed their lips together in a passionate kiss, activating the lift with his Vortex Manipulator and stepping back. “I’ll be fine. I always am. I love you,” he added as the lift began its ascent to the pavement above.

Before the lift had reached the top, the bomb inside Jack’s stomach exploded, destroying the Hub completely.

~

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Mark was thrown to the ground as the explosion ripped through the Hub. He winced as he hit his head and sent a silent prayer to whoever might be listening that the baby was still okay. His ears were ringing as he stumbled to his feet and surveyed the damage in front of him. 

The Plass had been completely destroyed in the blast and, along with it, so had most – if not all - of the Hub. He needed to find Ianto, and see if there was anything left of Jack to find.

Ambulances had already arrived at the scene and, as Mark clambered over the rubble, he felt arms around his waist, pulling him back and away from the damage. 

He couldn’t hear what they were saying over the ringing his ears, but he knew from how they were acting that they didn’t want him anywhere near the explosion. Between them, his captors managed to bundle him into the back of an ambulance, just as his hearing returned to normal.

“You heard what they said,” one of them was saying to the other. “No survivors. We need to take care of him.”

The other reached over and grabbed a syringe, filling it with some kind of toxin. “Hold him still,” he instructed, moving into position to inject him.

Having learnt self-defence from the best, Mark wasn’t about to go down easily and began fight the two men. He managed to knock one out before throwing the other against the back of the ambulance, knocking him out as well.

He reached around and grabbed the gun from the paramedic’s belt, barely registering that most medics didn’t carry weapons, before moving to the second medic and grabbing his weapon as well.

Suddenly a red light caught his eye and, knowing that it was a sniper’s laser, he jumped out of the ambulance, firing at the sniper. His shots missed, as did the sniper’s, whose bullets landed in the medic’s shoulder, killing him immediately. 

Mark fired off a few more shots as he ran around to the driver’s side and pulled the door open, jumping into the cab and slamming his foot against the accelerator. He didn’t have time to close the door, nor did he care as the medic’s dead body fell from the vehicle as it exited the Plass amid gunfire. He wanted nothing more than to find his parents, but he knew that Jack was long dead and if Ianto had survived he wouldn’t want Mark to hang around and get himself – and the baby – killed.

~

Ianto grimaced and clawed his way out of the hole that had once been the Hub just in time to see an ambulance peeling off of the Plass, its doors hanging open. He hoped to God that whoever was driving it was Mark because that would mean that he and the baby were safe for the moment.

He had barely reached the top of the crater when he saw the red laser of the sniper shining bright in the darkness. The assassin in Ianto wanted to roll his eyes at the sniper’s idiocy – a laser during the night was the most stupid thing ever – but at that moment Ianto was more than happy for the sniper’s slip up. He couldn’t afford to be killed.

When the sniper began to fire at him, he knew staying on the Plass and looking for Jack was not going to happen. So Ianto did the only thing he could do. He ran. He didn’t know where he was running to, but he had to get away from the destroyed Hub and just hope that his family would be okay until they saw each other again.

He ran through the darkened streets, trying to lose the sniper on the rooftop. Gunshots followed him and he ran faster, his feet pounding hard against the pavement. Finally spotting an alcove, he ducked inside it and pressed his back against the wall. His chest was heaving and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he watched a convoy of trucks move past him.

Ianto tried to remember the licence plates, but there was so much going on inside his head, that he found it hard to remember anything more than the letter.

~

Mark pulled the ambulance to a stop outside Cardiff Stadium and jumped out, grabbing the gun as he moved. The surviving medic was still in the back of the vehicle as Mark clambered over the fallen medical debris. 

The medic was just regaining consciousness and Mark stalked over to him. “Who do you work for?” he demanded, lowering his voice angrily, sounding just like Ianto. He pressed the barrel of the gun against the medic’s forehead and repeated his question, cocking the hammer back as he spoke.

When the black man tried to be smart, Mark fired off a shot into the roof, before pointing it back at him. “Do not mess with me. You tried to kill my family and me. They could be dead for all I know; I am not in the mood to be fucked with. Do you really want to see if I can use this?”

The man swallowed thickly and tried to move away from the gun. “The… The Government,” he stammered. “I work for the Government. I just follow orders, that’s all.”

“I doubt we’re on the same side,” Mark scoffed, rolling his eyes.

The medic noticed Mark’s distraction and acted, grabbing hold of his arm and trying to move the gun away. The young Torchwood agent didn’t think twice about putting a bullet through the other man’s foot, making him scream in agony. “You try anything else, I’ll shoot somewhere more painful,” he stated.

“Now…” Mark continued, pressing the gun to the medic’s temple again. “Tell me. Why does the Government want to destroy Torchwood?”

“I… I just do as I’m told. I’m just following orders; I swear I don’t know anything.”

Mark scowled deeper and pressed the gun harder against the man’s forehead. He seriously contemplated pulling the trigger and silencing the bastard who had tried to kill him, but was stopped when the radio crackled to life, and he heard the operator confirming that they had located the rogue ambulance.

He took a step back, never taking his eyes off of the medic before jumping from the ambulance and running away. He wasn’t that far from home; if he was lucky he could get there before anyone figured out where he lived.

~

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 

Julian was woken up when the door was thrown open and the light came on. “What the Hell?” he demanded, glaring across the room at his partner. 

“Shut up and get dressed,” Mark instructed, pulling the wardrobe open and pulling a small bag out. “We need to go.”

“What?” Julian exclaimed, pushing the quilt back and getting to his feet. “Mark, what’s-?”

“Look,” Mark sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Someone is trying to kill me, and if they’re after me, they’re going to come for you as well. So we need to go. Screw work, they’ll have to call in someone else.” 

“Well, why didn’t you say so?” Julian retorted, running across the room and hurriedly pulling some clothes on. “Where are your parents?” he asked, following the other man from the room. 

“Grab those lenses,” Mark ordered, running over to the fridge, frantically looking for something. 

“What are you looking for?” Julian shouted through as he grabbed the small white container and threw them in the bag Mark had placed on the couch. 

“Car keys,” Mark replied, throwing cushions from the couch as he searched. 

“Which car?” Julian asked, grabbing his jacket and throwing it on. 

“Any. The fastest. I don’t know. Either of them; we have four. As long as it’s a car, I don’t care. I know I saw them somewhere this morning,” he muttered, looking around the room frantically. 

“The keys for the Audi should be on the fridge,” Julian answered, pulling on his trainers. 

“Why would they be on the fridge?” Mark asked, rolling his eyes but running into the kitchen nevertheless. 

He sighed, partly with relief, but mostly with annoyance when he saw that Julian was right. “What are they doing there? We have a perfectly good hook,” he muttered to himself, grabbing and throwing them at his partner. 

“Taking the phones is a no-go, I presume?” Julian ventured a guess, shrugging his coat on. 

“Yeah,” Mark sighed, pulling his own from his pocket and throwing it on the couch. “It’s not like we’ve got Dad or Tad to scramble the signal. They’ll be able to trace us.” 

They both jumped when the house phone started ringing and Julian quickly grabbed it. “Hello?” 

“What are you doing?” Mark exclaimed, dashing forward to grab the phone. 

Julian rolled his eyes. “They’re not going to call you first to see if you’re home,” he retorted. “Besides, it’s your tad.” 

Mark’s eyes widened and he grabbed the handset from Julian. “Tad?” he asked, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard his father’s voice on the other end of the line. “Thank god you’re okay. You are okay, right?” 

“Of course I am,” Ianto retorted. “I always am. It’s not me I’m worried about. What about you?” 

“I’m okay,” Mark assured him. “We’re okay,” he added, glancing over at Julian and smiling; he knew his partner would assume ‘we’re’ meant the two of them, when in reality he meant all three. “What about Dad?” 

“I don’t know,” Ianto confessed. “There were snipers; I couldn’t hang around the Bay. Don’t worry, we’ll find him.” 

“I know we will,” Mark smiled. He dragged the phone over the window and looked out, checking that the coast was still clear. “Jules, take the keys and get the car started, I’ll be there in a sec.” 

Julian smiled and kissed him softly before grabbing the bag and running out of the apartment. 

“I’m scared, Tad,” Mark confessed, looking back out of the window and watching as Julian climbed into his shiny black car. “What if he couldn’t survive the explosion?” 

“I know you are,” Ianto replied. “But your dad has survived loads of stuff. They’ll be in for a shock when they realise just how indestructible Captain Jack Harkness really is.” 

“How did they even get that close to him to plant the bomb? He’s not normally that careless.” 

“When he went to the hospital. Him and that doctor were killed. That must have been when they got him.” Ianto sighed. “We need somewhere we can meet up.” 

“Where?” Mark asked, looking out of the window and seeing the convoy rolling towards them. “Shit!” he exclaimed. “I’ve got to go. Love you.” 

He didn’t even wait for Ianto’s response before dropping the phone and sprinting from the apartment and down the stairs. 

The convoy stopped just as he reached the car. He brought his gun up, aiming it at the car’s tyres and quickly shot them out before jumping in and ordering Julian to put his foot down. He had bought them a little time, but what they really needed was a miracle. 

~ 

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Julian watched in alarm as Mark pulled the clasps open on the lorry. “Can’t we just steal a car?” he whined, dismay covering his face.

“Nope,” Mark retorted, holding the canvas up. “We do that and it’ll be reported in seconds. This way we can move about and no one will notice us. Your accounts have been blocked; so have mine. The Torchwood expense account went down with the servers. Until Glasgow realise that there’s something wrong and get the mainframe back online, we’re penniless. And without money, how are we supposed to refuel the car we’ve stolen?” He turned and raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, point,” Julian agreed, urging Mark to slip under the canvas. “You’re bitchy when you’ve nearly been blown up,” he muttered, following the other man and smoothing the cover down as best as he could.

Mark chuckled and clambered over a bunch of onions so they could hide at the back. Outside the lorry, they heard a shuffle and quickly ducked down, hoping that they were out of sight from the driver. When they heard the driver refasten the clasps and move away they let out a sigh of relief.

“This isn’t the best way to travel, but it’s better than nothing,” Mark said, lying back on the onions and trying to get comfortable. “All the important decisions are made in London, so…”

“Chances are someone there knows who ordered the hit,” Julian finished for him. He leant over and kissed him softly. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he whispered against Mark’s lips.

“Me too,” Mark breathed, leaning closer and deepening the kiss.

Julian chuckled and pulled away, shaking his head. “No, Mark,” he said firmly. “Sitting on the onions is uncomfortable enough. I’m not having sex on top of them. Speaking of… Do you have a penknife?” he abruptly changed the subject.

“You’re not eating raw onion, Jules.” Mark shook his head. “I have to spend the rest of – god knows how long with you, without a toothbrush. That’s going to be bad enough without onion breath.”

Julian pouted before rolling his eyes. “I’m not hungry enough to eat raw onion,” he retorted. “I don’t even like them cooked, but we’ll need something to cut our way out of here with.”

“Oh,” Mark murmured, blushing lightly. “Yeah. There’s one in the bag, don’t worry about it,” he waved his hand; his mind more focused on other things.

~

Ianto, having lost the goons following him during the night, had doubled back and returned the Plass. They wouldn’t have been expecting him to return, so he had made his way to the roof he had seen the sniper on the night before. 

He watched, horror filling him completely as a woman in black barked out orders to the members of her squad, before a severed forearm and hand were placed in a body bag on a gurney; followed by, what looked like Jack’s shoulder and part of his head.

Bile welled up in Ianto’s throat but he fought it down with determination. He wasn’t about to let himself be sick when there was so much that needed to be done; like figuring out who the Hell was trying to kill them, and why.

He hadn’t heard anything from Mark all night and he wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or terrified by that fact. On one hand, he knew that his son had been trained to be an undercover agent by two of the best he could think of – himself and Jack. But on the other hand, he couldn’t help thinking that something bad had happened to him – and his grandchild.

~

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Mark winced and shifted uncomfortably. Julian noticed his partner’s action and frowned. “Are you okay?” he asked.

The other man nodded his head. “I’ve been better,” he replied, his voice tight. 

Julian sighed and leant forward, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Your dad will be fine,” he tried to assure him; even though neither of them knew for sure it was the truth.

“It’s not exactly Dad I’m worried about,” Mark confessed, feeling butterflies swell in his stomach.

“Your tad’ll be okay as well,” Julian said.

Mark smiled and leant back in Julian’s arms. “Again, it’s not him I’m worried about.”

Julian pressed a kiss against Mark’s hair. “Then what’s got you so worked up? I’ve seen you bothered about Torchwood related stuff before, but this is different.”

Mark sighed and looked down at the onions they were sitting on. “You know those moments where you plan things out perfectly?” 

“Yeah,” Julian replied, feeling nervousness swell inside him at Mark’s words.

“Well, this isn’t how I’d planned this coming out,” Mark confessed. “In my head there would be candles and bubble bath. Maybe even wine.”

Julian frowned deeply. “Mark, what’s-?”

Mark turned and pressed a kiss to his partner’s lips, silencing his question, before answering softly, “I’m pregnant, Jules,” his voice nothing more than a whisper.

The doctor’s eyes widened in surprise and he stared at him. “You… You’re pregnant?” he repeated. Mark nodded his head. Julian let out a cry of happiness and hugged his partner. “That’s brilliant!” he exclaimed loudly.

“Shh!” Mark swatted him on the arm. “We’ll get caught,” he warned, but he was grinning broadly as Julian kissed him deeply. “Is it brilliant?” he finally asked, pulling back and chewing his lower lip. They hadn’t been trying for children, and Mark was worried the pregnancy had happened at a bad time.

“Are you kidding me?” Julian retorted, beaming from ear to ear. “Of course it’s brilliant. How far along are you?”

“Three weeks,” Mark replied, smiling at his partner’s enthusiasm. 

Suddenly Julian frowned deeply. “But if you’re pregnant, then the explosion, the car chase…” He paled considerably. “Oh God,” he breathed.

Knowing where Julian’s mind had gone, Mark pushed away and turned to face him. “Hey,” he said, placing a hand on Julian’s cheek, “I’m fine. We’re fine. Don’t worry about all that.”

Julian didn’t look convinced, so Mark kissed him softly. “I mean it, Jules,” he stated. “We’re fine. We’ll go to London, figure out who the fuck’s behind this, kill them, and get ready for this baby.”

The other man laughed and pulled Mark into his arms, hugging him tightly. “God, I love you,” he breathed, pressing a kiss on Mark’s neck as he held him close.

Mark grinned and allowed Julian to squeeze him. “I love you, too,” he replied, patting his hand when Julian loosened his grip a little.

Neither of them moved out of the embrace as the truck continued its journey to London. Occasionally, Julian’s hand would travel to Mark’s stomach and he would let out a low chuckle at the gentle heat he could feel. Mark knew from what his parents had told him that male pregnancies often manifested first as heat; until he could find them and get checked out, he had to hope that the warmth meant the baby was okay. 

Mark was just relieved that Julian was taking the news of his impending parenthood so well. 

Before they had gotten married, Mark had bitten the bullet and finally admitted to Julian that he was genetically able to bare children. When Mark had told him, Julian hadn’t been able to accept it. His medical training had kicked in, and he couldn’t get his head around what Mark was saying, purely because he was a man, so it clearly wasn’t possible. Only when Mark had allowed Julian to do a scan of his body, revealing that he had been telling the truth, had the doctor accepted Mark was telling the truth.

“What are you thinking about?” Julian asked, pressing a kiss against Mark’s neck and bringing him out of his trance.

Mark blinked and shook his head, a small smile on his face as he moved further into Julian’s embrace. “Nothing,” he whispered, closing his eyes and breathing in the other man’s scent. “Nothing.”

~

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

“Mum!” Stephen shouted through to the dining room, where Alice was setting the table. “There’s been an explosion!” he added.

“What?” Alice breathed, jogging into the kitchen and stopping in the doorway. Her son was watching the television, which was still displaying the news; only, unlike the previous day, it was displaying a huge crater in the ground.

Her breath caught in her throat when she realised that the explosion had destroyed the Roald Dahl Plass and had almost taken out the Millennium Centre, which had been standing for centuries.

“Isn’t that where Grandpa and Granddad work?” Stephen asked, looking up when Alice didn’t speak.

She nodded mutely and crossed the room, picking up her phone and immediately dialling Jack’s phone number.

“Hey, this is Jack Harkness. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”

With a shaky breath, she cancelled the phone and tried calling Ianto’s mobile, only to receive the same message. 

She quickly dialled Mark’s number; that rang and rang, until the answering machine picked up. That alone was enough to cement the worry deep in her mind; Mark always answered her calls. She may not get along with their parents, but her and Mark had never lost contact; even while she had been in Asia she had kept in touch with him.

“Is there something wrong with Grandpa and Granddad?” Stephen asked, his bottom lip quivering with fear for his grandparents. 

Alice shook her head, running her hand over Stephen’s hair. “No,” she lied. “I’m sure they’re fine,” she added, trying to reassure him that everything was fine with Jack and Ianto, even though she was pretty sure things had gone to Hell faster than anyone had thought possible.

~

Rhiannon looked around nervously as she waited. She couldn’t believe she had left herself be talked into coming to the park when everything was going wrong and the house was under surveillance.

“Hey,” Ianto greeted, jogging the few extra steps to meet her. He looked around once, just to confirm that there wasn’t actually anyone watching, before sitting down on the bench. “You figured out my message then?” he added.

She rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t exactly cryptic,” she muttered, running her fingers over the wooden table in front of her. “And you didn’t break my leg. It was an accident.”

“I pushed you too hard,” Ianto argued. “It was my fault.”

Rhiannon sighed and shook her head; it was no use arguing with him, especially not when the argument was almost as old as Rhiannon herself. “What happened, Ianto?” she asked instead. “The explosion on the news. That was the Plass. The Hub…”

“The Hub is gone,” Ianto said in a soft and weary voice. “That bomb… It was in Jack’s stomach.”

Rhiannon drew in a horrified gasp. “But… Is he okay? What about Mark?”

“Jack got Mark out before the bomb went off,” Ianto assured her. “He’s okay. At least I hope he is. He’s with Julian, so he’ll be fine.”

Rhiannon bit her lip. “What about Jack?”

Ianto sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s why I need this,” he nodded to the computer he had asked her to bring along with her. “If Glasgow has the mainframe back online I should be able to-,”

He broke off when suddenly the park went silent. He and Rhiannon both looked up, horror filling their stomachs, and saw that all the children in the park had stopped.

“Oh no,” Rhiannon breathed as they got to their feet. “It’s happening again,” she added, moving over to the fence.

“This has to have something to do with what happened at the Hub,” Ianto spoke. “We were working on this and trying to figure out who’s doing it.”

“Someone clearly doesn’t want you figuring that out,” Rhiannon commented, just as the children began to speak in unison.

“We are coming, tomorrow,” they repeated several times.

Rhiannon looked at Ianto helplessly, not knowing what to do, but the assassin shook his head. While the children were speaking, there was nothing any of them could do.

It wasn’t long before the children snapped out of it and returned to their playing, oblivious to their parent’s worries.

“I’ve got to go,” Ianto murmured, jogging back to the table and grabbing the computer. “Thanks for this,” he added, heading back to her and hugging her tightly.

“Take the car,” Rhiannon ordered, pressing the keys into his hand. “You’re not going to get anywhere fast on foot. You’ll need it.”

Ianto smiled thankfully and pressed a kiss to her hair. “Thank you,” he said. “Hug the kids for me, and make sure they’re safe.”

“I will,” Rhiannon assured him. “As long as you do the same. Be careful!” she shouted as Ianto ran over to the car.

~

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

“I still don’t think doing this is the right thing,” Julian said, looking at Mark across the table in the café. 

They had been there for nearly twenty minutes and, while they’d had enough cash on them for one cup of tea each, they knew that if they stayed there any longer, people would start to ask questions that they couldn’t afford to answer.

“What other choice to we have?” Mark answered, his eyes firmly glued on the door. “This is our go-to-guy in the Government. If we can’t trust him, then we really are in trouble.”

Julian rolled his eyes. “Mark, we already are in big trouble,” he pointed out under his breath.

“I know,” Mark sighed. “But we’ve got to trust someone and right now I don’t have the means to get in contact with any other members of the family.”

Julian placed his hand over Mark’s and squeezed reassuringly. “Don’t worry, we’ll figure out something,” he assured his partner as a bell jingled and the door opened.

A young blonde woman approached the table, looking around nervously – presumably to ensure that she wasn’t followed.

“Can I help you?” Julian asked, tightening his hold on Mark’s hand.

“I spoke to you earlier,” she replied, finally looking back at them. “On the phone. I arranged this meeting.”

“Congratulations,” Mark retorted. “That’s great, but why are you here and not your boss? I’m not talking to anyone except him.”

The woman narrowed her eyes and sat down in the seat next to Julian. “Because if he knew you were here, you’d be dead by now, Mark Richard Harkness-Jones.”

Mark’s own eyes narrowed suspiciously. “How do you know my name?” he demanded. He had used Ianto’s name and authorisation code on the phone when he had been speaking to her; not once had he mentioned who he really was.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Because I was the third person to hold you after you’d been born,” she retorted, reaching into her bag and pulling out an old birth certificate.

“Be careful with this,” she ordered, handing it over. “This is a hell of a lot older than you are.”

Mark frowned and his eyes quickly skimmed the text on the paper. Suddenly he dropped the paper and looked up in shock. “I… You… I…” he stammered, staring at the woman.

She nodded her head, grinning from ear to ear as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. “You’ve grown up a lot since the last time I saw you, Marky Mark,” she commented, placing the paper back in her bag and grinned at Julian choking back a snort of laughter.

The young man was still staring at her in surprise, trying to get his head around what he’d just discovered. “You… Cali?” he hissed.

~

TBC


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

“You… Cali?” Mark hissed. He looked over in surprise at Julian, who was staring at him with a similar look of shock on his own face.

The blonde woman grinned and nodded her head, beckoning to the waitress and ordering full English breakfasts for Mark and Julian; although Mark’s was a large portion. “You’re eating for two now,” she explained when they looked at her in confusion.

Her eyes fell on Julian’s still startled expression and she winced. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologised, blushing lightly. “Did you not know?”

“He knows,” Mark assured her, his mind still reeling. “But how do you know?” he demanded.

“Time Lord’s can sense things like pregnancy,” Cali explained, dropping her voice a little. “The baby’s fine. Congratulations,” she added.

“Thanks,” Mark replied, trying to smile. 

Cali got to her feet and moved around the table, wrapping her arm around her uncle and hugging him tightly. “It’s good to see you again,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to his hair as she released him. 

She looked over at Julian and grinned brightly. “Hi,” she greeted, holding her hand out across the table. “I’m Cali. Mark’s niece,” she explained.

Julian nodded numbly. “Mark’s told me about you before,” he replied, shaking her hand. “You’re… Rory’s daughter, right?” he ventured a guess. Mark’s family tree was confusing at best and impossible to figure out at worst. Half of the time he felt like he needed a spread sheet, or something.

Cali nodded her head. “That’s Papa,” she replied, running her fingers over the ring attached to her necklace; thoughts of Rory always made her a little melancholy. “I haven’t seen Mark since he was a baby.”

“Where have you been all this time?” Mark asked as food arrived and both of them began digging in gratefully. 

“Australia,” Cali answered, handing Julian the salt before he’d even asked for it. “I’ve only just managed to lose the accent. I was in London, about to call Grandpa and Granddad, when all this kicked off. I figured if things went south, we could use a little leverage, so I conned my way into Thames House as a temp.”

Julian whistled in appreciation. “That’s good thinking,” he complimented. 

Cali beamed and smoothed her hair down. “Thank you,” she replied. “Where is Grandpa?” she asked, looking back at Mark.

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “God knows,” he sighed. “I haven’t spoken to Tad since we left Cardiff. As for Dad…” He drew in a shuddering breath at the thought of what had happened to Jack.

Cali grinned and reached across the table for the bag she had left next to Julian. “I think I have something that will help us find him,” she stated, reaching into it and pulling out several documents.

“What are these?” Mark asked, staring at the papers as she spread them out on the table. They were blueprints and other official documents, he realised immediately.

“I’ve been working for Frobisher since the shit hit the fan and I know he gave the order to have Granddad killed,” she explained.

“Okay, we really are in trouble,” Julian commented, looking over at Mark.

The other man drew in a breath. “Why would he do that?”

Cali shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, but I saw it after it had been sent. A blank page was issued.”

Julian frowned. “What’s a blank page?” he asked.

“Exactly what it sounds like; a blank page. Erase all evidence – and people – and start fresh. There are names he’s planning on releasing to the press - Staines, Sanders and Hunt. They’re all dead, died years ago so it makes no sense to release them now. I haven’t figured out why he’s planning that. The only thing I know for certain is that they all had connections to Granddad.”

“What kind of connections?” Mark asked.

Cali shook her head. “I don’t know. I can’t access that kind of information from where I am without raising any red flags. Without access to Torchwood, I doubt you can, either. That is why I have a break out plan, so we can ask the man himself.”

“Break out?” Julian questioned. “Who are we going to break out?”

“Granddad,” Cali replied simply. “Earlier on, I heard Frobisher order one of his goons to keep an eye on ‘him’. It was just after he’d issued the blank page, so I presumed the person they were talking about was either Grandpa, or Granddad.” 

“There’s something big being built on the top floor of the MI-5 building, but I don’t know what it is. I’m working on getting up there, but first…” she pointed to the paper, “we need to get Granddad back.”

~  
TBC


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Ianto wished he could tune out the screams coming from the compound in front of him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t ignore the terrified cries coming from his partner.

He had watched helplessly, unable to comprehend why there was a large cement mixer on site, until the same woman he had seen on the destroyed Plass had begun backing it up to something.

Using binoculars he had stolen from a man who had fallen asleep bird watching, Ianto watched as a pipe was lowered into a hole in the roof and the mixer was turned on.

That had been when the screams had started, and he had realised with horror that his partner was being buried in cement.

Ianto hoped to god that the screaming would stop soon. If the screaming stopped it meant that Jack was dead and the cement couldn’t hurt him anymore; once it set, Jack wouldn’t come back to life until he was freed. He simply remained dead.

Only when the screaming had ceased, did Ianto lower the binoculars and turn away from the compound. He had seen a quarry a little under a mile down the road – presumably that was where they had found the cement mixer – and hopefully he would be able to find something there that he could use to break Jack out of his concrete prison.

In the quarry, he found a luminous yellow vest and a hard-hat. Not the best of attire, but if he was going to get Jack out then he had to be as convincing as he could.

Driving the large JCB through the compound a few hours later, Ianto felt nervousness grow in his stomach. The guards at the front gate had been confused about his presence, but he had explained that they were doing renovation on the grounds at the back, and he had been on his way. The guards just presumed he had something to do with the cement mixer they had seen earlier that day.

Stopping the JCB opposite the building he knew Jack was in, Ianto jumped down and jogged over to the wall. He didn’t really know what he was going to do, only that whatever it was he had to do it fast.

That was when he realised that the building he was looking at wasn’t actually a building in the sense that it had concrete foundations. It was built on a raised platform.

Ianto looked back at the forklift truck and grinned widely, an idea forming in his mind.

Jogging back over the JCB, he jumped on and started the engine. Looking around to ensure no one was coming, he slowly drove towards the wall, making sure that the arms of the forklift were secured under – what he hoped was – the correct section of wall.

Raising the arms didn’t work the first time he tried, but he must have loosened the building’s grip on the room, because it came free on the second attempt.

He quickly put the vehicle into reverse and drove away from the building, taking the concrete cell containing his partner with it.

To his surprise, as he drove back, he spotted Mark and Julian running out of the newly created exit. “Get on then,” he shouted, momentarily slowing the vehicle and allowing them to do as he ordered, before putting his foot down.

“What the hell are you two doing here?” he asked, driving out of the compound as fast as he could; which, considering he now had two extra passengers and a cement block, wasn’t that fast.

“I could ask you the same question,” Mark retorted, grimacing and tightening his grip as Ianto turned a corner. “Took your time though, didn’t you?”

Ianto chuckled and stopped just outside the entrance to the compound. “Jules, can you move that truck?” he asked, nodding to the cement mixer that was still parked a few feet away.

The doctor nodded and ran off to move it. “Are there any bullets left in there?” he asked Mark, indicating to the gun in his hand.

“Yeah,” Mark said, breathing a little heavy from the exertion of holding on so tight.

“Good,” Ianto sighed. “When Julian is free of the truck, I want you to shoot it.”

Mark’s eyes widened. “What?” he shrieked. 

“Blocking their path with a stationary vehicle isn’t going to be enough,” Ianto said quickly. “It’d be better if it was on fire.”

Mark shook his head. “Can’t you do it?” he asked, trying to hand the gun to Ianto. “I’ll miss.”

Ianto glared at him and pushed the gun back into his hand. “You won’t miss. I know you’re a better shot than that, because I trained you. I have faith in you, Mark. You can do it.”

Mark stared at him for a moment before sighing and jumping down from the JCB. “Jules get down!” he commanded, lining up the shot.

Julian did as instructed, seconds before Mark pulled the trigger and the truck exploded in a ball of fire.

“See?” Ianto retorted, as the couple climbed back on and they continued to the quarry. “I told you that you could do it.”

Mark rolled his eyes. “Shut up,” he muttered. “How are you going to get him out of there?” he asked when Ianto came to a stop in the quarry.

Ianto grinned. “You’ll see. It should work, but your dad might have a bit of a headache by the time he’s finished. Get in the car and start the engine; we won’t have much time.”

Julian frowned, not understanding what exactly Ianto was talking about, before jumping down from the JCB and pulling Mark with him. “Any idea what he’s planning?” he asked as they ran over to the car.

“Not a clue,” Mark replied, looking through the back window of the car and watching Ianto raise the height of the cement block. “Oh, he’s not,” he breathed, realising what Ianto was planning on doing.

Julian turned around and whistled when he saw what Mark was looking at. “Well, he did say your dad was going to have a headache when he was done.”

~

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

They arrived at the bottom of the quarry just in time to see Jack stumble to his feet and look around in confusion.

“Oh, great!” Mark drawled, averting his eyes. “Just what I needed to see. My father completely naked.” He looked over at Julian, “Give him your coat please,” he begged his partner.

Ianto laughed and took the coat from his son-in-law, before making his way over to his own partner. “Hey,” he greeted in a voice that was little more than a whisper as he slid the coat around Jack’s shoulders. “Let’s get you out of those,” he added, nodding to the chains around Jack’s wrists.

Jack nodded silently, a pleading look in his eyes and Ianto felt a pang of regret inside him for not getting Jack out sooner. He had known his lover hated being restrained – he had ever since his year with the Master – but he hadn’t been able to do anything about it.

Quickly, Ianto pushed back his sleeve and pressed two buttons on his Vortex Manipulator, unlocking the cuffs around Jack’s wrists. When the assassin bent down and picked them up, Jack frowned deeply. “What are you doing?” he asked.

Ianto grinned and stood upright. “You never know when a pair of handcuffs is going to come in useful,” he replied. “Come here, you,” he breathed, running his hand through Jack’s hair and pulling him closer.

The Captain tasted of cement dust, but Ianto didn’t care. Jack was alive and back with them; that was all he could focus on.

“What did I miss?” Jack asked finally when they broke apart for air.

Mark laughed, smiling gratefully as Jack moved to put the coat on properly and fasten it. “How long have you got?” he asked, moving forward to hug his father.

Jack chuckled and motioned for Julian to join the hug. “Okay, easier question. What the hell’s going on?”

“Don’t know yet,” Mark answered, leading them all back to the car. As before Julian got in the driver’s seat, with Mark in the passenger side, leaving the back to Jack and Ianto. “But the latest from the kids is that it’s happening tomorrow.”

Jack grinned and wrapped his arm around Ianto, pulling the assassin closer. “Looks like I’m just in time then,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to Ianto’s temple.

Mark smiled and turned around to face forward, before remembering about his niece. “Oh, and Cali told me to tell you she says hi.”

~

TBC


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Jack grimaced and looked down at his clothes is disdain. “Couldn’t you have found me something better to wear?” he complained. “Tracksuit bottoms really don’t suit me.”

Ianto growled and glared at his partner. “You have done nothing but complain since you got dressed.”

“That’s because these are awful,” Jack whined, pouting at Ianto and looking at him with wide blue eyes.

Ianto shook his head. “That look stopped being effective centuries ago,” he informed the Captain. “Until we figure something out, you’ll have to make do with those. The charity shop only had those in your size.”

Jack glared at the assassin. “I’m wearing second hand clothes?” he hissed.

At that moment, Mark and Julian chose to return; Mark with a crowbar in hand. “We’re on the run from most official bodies in the government, Dad,” he reminded the older man. “Now is not the time to be a snob. Are you sure this is the right place?” he asked, turning to face Ianto.

Ianto nodded. “This warehouse used to belong to Torchwood London, back in the old days. It hasn’t been used since the 1990’s; hopefully it should have dropped off the records by now. If not, it’ll at least give us a base of operations until we can figure something out.”

He took the crowbar from Mark and easily managed to break the chain on the door; it was old and well rusted, so it crumbled easily, allowing him to push the door open. 

“This is it, boys,” Ianto said, entering the warehouse and looking around. “This is Torchwood.”

Mark tried to smile at his father, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I don’t suppose there’s any way to get heat in here is there?” he asked. “I’m freezing my arse off here!”

Ianto grinned and reached into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette lighter that had been left in the JCB he had commandeered earlier; he had kept it for the very reason they now need it. “I have the fire,” he said, waving the lighter in the air.

Julian pulled a disused oil drum over and inspected the contents. “This is completely dried out,” he stated.

“Probably hasn’t been used in about as long as this place,” Jack commented, glancing around as he slid onto a tatty old couch that had been abandoned. 

Ianto handed Julian the lighter. “Since you found the drum, you can do the honours,” he stated, grinning as he crossed over to the couch, sitting on the end opposite Jack.

“Oh great,” Julian moaned. “You get to sit down, and I get to burn my eyebrows off.”

Mark sighed and leant against the back of the couch. “What are we supposed to do now? We can’t just sit here on our arses and not do anything!” he cried as Julian lit the fire – without burning his eyebrows off, after all.

“Worse than that, do I have to stay in these-?”

“Oh, will you stop complaining about the clothes?” the others chorused in annoyance.

Jack sighed and held his hands up. “Okay, sorry,” he muttered. 

Mark glared at him. “Dad, they’re arriving today. That alien voice thing said today, and we still don’t have any idea what we’re up against, or how to fight it.”

“Yeah,” Jack breathed, patting the seat between him and Ianto, indicating for Mark to sit down. “I know. But we’re down not out, yeah? We’re Torchwood; we can find a way out of this. Besides, I’m not sure how much fighting you should be doing in your condition,” he added without thinking.

Mark stiffened beside him, and Jack immediately realised what he’d said.

“What?” Julian asked, staring at his partner. “They knew before I did?” 

Mark winced. “It wasn’t intentional; they were just there,” he tried to explain.

Julian scowled. “Well, that’s just brilliant. Last to bloody know as usual.” He threw the lighter at Ianto and turned on his heel, stalking out of the warehouse.

“Jules!” Mark cried, jumping to his feet. He turned and glared at Jack, “You’re a bastard,” he hissed. “Why couldn’t you have just kept your mouth shut?”

He jogged after Julian and slammed the door closed behind him. 

Jack turned and looked at Ianto with a forlorn look, but the assassin shook his head. “Don’t look at me. I think he’s right. Sometimes you really need to learn when not to talk.” 

~

TBC


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Mark followed his irate partner out of the warehouse. He panicked briefly when he lost sight of him. People were looking for them; they had already tried to kill him, his parents, and their unborn child. He couldn’t lose Julian to them; he couldn’t raise their child alone.

His momentary terror abated when he saw Julian deep in the shadows, leaning against the warehouse’s outer wall in a familiar pose. He had one knee bent with his foot braced behind him. His arms were folded across his chest, and he was looking up into the night sky. 

It was the exact stance his partner had been in when he’d first met him outside the A&E in Cardiff after the doctor had treated a victim of a particularly nasty Weevil mauling. He’d intended to thank him, then Retcon him; instead he’d ended up asking him out. His Tad might have taught him to shoot, but his Dad had taught him to flirt. Poor Julian had never stood a chance.

“How long are you going to stand there?” Julian demanded without looking at him.

“I’m assessing my tactical position and whether coming over there is going to get me punched,” Mark responded.

“I’ve never hit you,” Julian muttered. “I’m not about to start now when…” his voice trailed off.

“When I’m pregnant?” Mark replied, moving towards him. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you they knew. I didn’t tell them; they were there when I found out. I still had the image up on the scanner in the Hub when Dad walked in on me. He saw it, and of course he told Tad. The only time Jack Harkness has a filter is when he’s dead.”

Julian lowered his foot and pulled Mark towards him, so that his partner was standing between his thighs. He rested his hands on Mark’s hips before leaning in to gently brush his lips. “I’m not upset that they know. I just wish you’d told me you suspected. I mean, I’m a doctor. I could have done a scan for you. We could have found out together.”

“I didn’t suspect,” Mark admitted. “It’s too early for any symptoms but the heat, and I didn’t feel that. Even the last time we talked before all this went to hell, I had no idea.”

“Then how?” Julian looked confused. “Why did you even do the scan if you didn’t think you might be?”

“Torchwood,” Mark sighed. “I met someone and they said I was. In this job, you learn to listen even when it sounds insane, and we both know it’s far from insane. I’m proof of that.”

Julian nodded and leant his head against Mark’s. “Okay,” he whispered. “I just wish…”

“What, Jules?” Mark whispered. “What do you wish? Whatever it is, I'll make it happen.”

Julian laughed. “That simple, huh? I just wish that just once we could have something that was just ours, even for a little while. Your Tad knew I was in love with you before I did. Your Dad knew I was planning to propose before I’d even bought the rings. I just wish we could have kept this to ourselves for even a night. I know it couldn’t have been for long; your job is too dangerous. Your parents needed to know, but even one night would have been enough.”

“I’m sorry,” Mark whispered. “It’s bad enough having a Tad who’s mildly empathic and a Dad who’s somewhat psychic, without adding Torchwood resources. If it’s any consolation, they did background checks on my crushes all the way back to nursery.”

“That I can believe.” Julian shook his head. “It’s no wonder Alice wants them to keep their distance.”

Mark went stiff in his embrace. “Don’t validate that. I love my sister, but I'll never understand how she acts towards Tad and Dad. They adore her; they’ve only ever wanted the best for us and for Stephen. They already love this baby, but all she sees is that we don’t have a normal family by her standards. When she finds out about the baby, I have no doubt I'll be asked to stay away from Stephen until he or she is born so she doesn’t have to explain.”

“She wouldn’t!” Julian gasped. “What am I saying? Of course she would.” He cupped Mark’s face. “Don’t you dare let her get to you! You just remember how much we want this baby, how much your parents already love him or her, and how much the rest of your family is going to spoil our child rotten.”

Mark leant into Julian’s touch with a smile. “Maybe we don’t get the big moments to ourselves, but we get this. It’s enough, yeah?”

“More than.” Julian pressed their lips together in a deep kiss, exploring his partner’s mouth with his tongue. 

“Jules,” Mark gasped, rubbing their bodies together. “Want you.”

“Oh God.” Julian ground against his partner. “Mark.”

“Yes,” Mark groaned, moving faster. He snaked one hand between them, working Julian’s belt open and undoing his zipper. He had just grasped his partner’s burgeoning erection when Julian grabbed his wrist.

“Mark,” he managed. “The world could be ending. It’s hardly the time for a quickie against the wall.”

Mark kept moving and started to nip and suck at a hot spot on Julian’s neck. “The world is always ending,” he said between kisses. “Best make the most of it.”

“Christ,” Julian moaned. “You’re too good at this.” He tried one last time to be the rational one, “We can’t do this. Your parents are right inside.”

“What do you think they’re doing right now?” Mark panted, pressing his body as hard as he could against Julian’s and trapping their hands between them. “Tad knows the best way to shut Dad up.” He thrust his hips so that his cloth-covered erection moved tantalisingly against Julian’s exposed, leaking cock.

“Fuck, I give up,” Julian said, releasing Mark’s hand and capturing his mouth. He shoved his jeans and boxers down over his hips until they pooled around his ankles, then he placed his own hands on Mark’s shoulders and urged him to his knees. “Suck me.”

“Duw,” Mark moaned, his hot breath caressing Julian’s cock and causing him to hiss in pleasure. He ran his tongue over the weeping head and tasted pre-come before swallowing his partner whole in one fluid motion.

“Christ, Mark,” Julian cried as he pumped into the wet heat of his partner’s mouth. He threaded his hands through his thick hair and held his head steady as he thrust into his mouth. “Love your mouth. Love you.”

Mark looked up at him, eyes bright with lust. He responded to Julian’s declaration by sucking harder and taking his partner deep in his throat, until his heavy sac was smacking his chin. His own jeans felt unbearably tight, but he didn’t dare try to undo his belt or zipper. He knew the slightest touch would send him over the edge and he wanted Julian to come first. 

Instead, he grasped Julian’s hips so hard he expected to find bruises later. Grinning decadently, he began to hum as he sucked. He felt Julian’s sharp intake of breath and saw him throw his head back. 

Julian couldn’t hold back any longer. His cry of warning echoed through the alley as he shot his release down Mark’s throat and panted as his partner sucked him dry and swallowed his essence.

Mark released Julian’s softening cock from between his swollen lips and stood, kissing his partner and letting him taste himself. “Please, Jules,” he whispered against the other man’s sweaty skin. “Need to come. Please.”

Julian turned him around to face the wall. He placed his hands against the bricks. “Leave them there,” he told his partner. His own hands moved to Mark’s groin, quickly undoing his belt and zipper before sliding both his jeans and underwear down. He pressed himself against Mark’s back, his spent cock nestled in between his cheeks. He placed one hand on his hip and wrapped the other around his weeping, turgid shaft, pumping him almost violently. 

“Come for me,” he growled into Mark’s ear. “Come all over my hand and all over the wall.”

“Fuck,” Mark shouted, thrusting furiously into Julian’s fist. “Gonna… Oh God,” he shouted, coming with a hoarse cry and spilling over Julian’s hand and onto the bricks of the warehouse façade. His knees buckled from the intensity of his orgasm and he would have fallen if Julian hadn’t held him up.

“I love you,” Julian muttered against Mark’s neck as his partner came down from his orgasm. He let his clean hand slide under Mark’s shirt, feeling the heat from his still-flat belly. “I love both of you.”

“We love you,” Mark told him sleepily as he sagged into his embrace. “We should get back. Not sure I can move, though.”

“Let’s get you inside,” Julian laughed. “I think a little nap might be in order.” He pulled his partner’s jeans up and made him presentable before hastily re-dressing himself. Gently, he steered a bleary Mark into the warehouse and back to where Ianto had stashed some toiletry items. He would clean him up, and then get him to lie down for a while. He and the baby needed rest; Julian might not be an alien hunter, but he would take care of Mark and their child as best he could.

As they passed the sofa in the main part of the warehouse, Julian glanced over. Jack was leaning against the back of the coach, as Ianto slumped against his chest, facing the opposite direction as the Captain carded his fingers through his partner’s sweaty hair. Julian caught his father-in-law’s eye and they nodded to each other with knowing smiles.

Jack Harkness might be impossible at times, but without him Julian wouldn’t have Mark or their child, and he wouldn’t change that for anything.

~

TBC


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

“Why are you looking at me like I did it on purpose?” Jack demanded, looking over at Ianto who was staring at him silently.

The assassin shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder if you actually do think before you speak,” he said softly.

Before Jack had a chance to reply, Ianto pushed him back against the couch and moved so he was straddling the Captain’s hips. “Ianto,” Jack protested weakly, putting his hands on Ianto’s hips; the assassin wasn’t sure if it was in an attempt to push him away, or pull him closer. “What about Mark and Julian?” he asked.

Ianto rolled his eyes and ducked his head, pressing a kiss to Jack’s lips. “What do you think they’re doing?” he whispered, sliding his tongue into the other man’s mouth.

Jack gasped when Ianto slid his hand down the Captain’s chest, and up under his T-shirt. The younger immortal ran the tips of his fingers across Jack’s nipples and grinned when the older man arched up into his touch.

“It’s been almost a week since we last had sex,” Ianto pointed out casually. “If you think you can last until this is over, then I will stop.”

“No!” Jack cried, making Ianto laugh. “If you stop, I will kill you,” he muttered darkly, glaring at the immortal assassin.

Ianto chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t worry,” he assured the Captain. “I have no intention on stopping.”

He slid his hand lower and slipped his fingers underneath the elasticised waistband of Jack’s tracksuit bottoms. Jack gasped when he felt Ianto’s fingers touch his rapidly hardening cock and he arched his back again, trying to push more of himself into Ianto’s touch.

“Damn it, Ianto,” he snarled when the assassin moved his hand away. “Don’t fucking tease!”

Ianto laughed and knelt up so he could push Jack’s tracksuit bottoms down his thighs, freeing his erection. “Now that I have missed,” he purred, running the backs of his fingers along the underside of Jack’s cock.

Jack groaned and tipped his head back, closing his eyes at the pleasure that shot through him. “You’re wearing too many clothes. Want to feel you. Want you to fuck me.”

Ianto continued to stroke Jack’s cock. “We haven’t got time for that, and we haven’t got anything. We are not risking you getting pregnant.”

Jack knew the assassin was right. They really could not afford that now; even if they hadn’t agreed long ago that two children at a time were the most they could emotionally handle leaving them. “Please, just do something. I need to feel you.”

“Help me out here,” Ianto snarled, moving Jack’s hand to his crotch. “Though I swear if we get come on this suit, I will shoot you. It’s the only clean suit I have… Hell, it’s the only suit I have until we get home.”

Jack began undoing Ianto’s belt. “Get the rest of your clothes off,” he ordered as he moved Ianto’s trousers over his hips and freed his erection.

Divesting himself of his waistcoat and shirt, Ianto rocked his hips against Jack’s, letting their weeping cocks slide together with delicious friction. He relished the sounds of pleasure coming from the Captain’s mouth. After the pain he had endured over the past couple of days, Ianto wanted nothing more than to give him pleasure. “You like that?” he murmured.

“Fuck yes,” Jack gasped, grasping Ianto’s hips and urging him to move faster. “Get on with it, will you; before Julian and Mark get back.”

“They’ll be a little while yet,” Ianto assured him, attacking the Captain’s mouth with his own. He slid his hand up and down Jack’s cock, coating it with pre-come before repeating the action on his own aching shaft. Intertwining his sticky fingers with Jack’s, he wrapped their joined hands around their erections and began to stroke deliberately.

Beneath him, Jack made unintelligible noises and arched up into his touch, moving his hips so that his cock pumped into the channel made by their hands and slid against Ianto’s own hardness. “God,” he gasped, letting his head loll back on the sofa. “Make me come.”

“Doing my best,” Ianto muttered breathlessly, feeling his own arousal peaking. The sensation of Jack’s cock moving against his always got him going. He also knew what got the Captain going, and he loved to make it happen. “When this is over,” Ianto growled, “I am taking you to bed for a week. I am going to fuck you into a quivering heap, but you are not going to come until I’ve gotten a good long ride.”

“Oh fuck,” Jack hissed, feeling his balls contract and his cock swell. The image Ianto had given him was perfect; the idea of those words coming from his partner’s mouth was all it took. His breath hitched and he came, coating their hands and Ianto’s cock with his release.

The added moisture from Jack’s come changed the sensations on Ianto’s cock. He urged Jack to move their hands faster as they continued to pump him, jerking him off almost violently until he came with a shout before collapsing forward onto Jack’s sweaty chest.

Groping beside the sofa, Jack found Ianto’s t-shirt. He wouldn’t miss it under his shirt and waistcoat. Quickly, he cleaned their hands and groins before pulling his exhausted partner to him and letting him doze against his chest.

~  
TBC


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

When Mark and Julian finally returned, Jack and Ianto were both looking presentable once more. All four members of the Harkness-Jones family had dopey grins on their faces.

“I don’t want to know,” Jack muttered with a shake of his head, noticing the dishevelled state of Mark’s hair. 

“Good,” Mark retorted, releasing Julian’s hand and helping Jack turn a table the right way around. “Because you’re not going to find out.”

Ianto rolled his eyes and began scattering things out on the table. “Trust me,” he commented, “he can’t say anything after what just happened.”

Mark frowned before he realised what Ianto was saying and gagged. “God, it’s a wonder I don’t need therapy with parents like you.”

Julian snorted with laughter and shook his head. “Speak for yourself,” he muttered, stepping up beside his partner.

As a group, they looked down in dismay at the items Ianto had spread across the surface in front of them, which wasn’t a lot. 

“Okay,” Jack sighed. “We have guns and a penknife. The laptop’s dead, so that’s useless. A bunch a traceable credit cards and phones, so using them is out.”

“Cold medication and stamps,” Mark added, “which are useless unless we’re planning on posting ourselves to the bad guys. Don’t forget the contact lenses.”

“Why did you even want those?” Julian asked.

Mark shrugged. “No idea,” he replied. “But you never know when they’re going to come in useful.”

“There’s fifteen quid,” Jack said. “So, all in all, I’d say we were screwed.”

Ianto shook his head. “Not completely. The Hub might have been destroyed, but the Torchwood software still exists. I managed to tap into it before Rhia’s computer died, and Ryan seems to have got the mainframe back online in Glasgow.”

“So we’ll be able to access that,” Mark said, hope growing in his stomach.

“We’ll need more than one computer,” Jack shook his head. “There are too many programmes we’ll need to run. One computer won’t be able to cope with it all.”

“Plus, we need electricity to power them,” Ianto pointed out.

Julian sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “And how are we supposed to get all that, hiding away down here like common criminals?”

Jack’s eyes lit up with childlike excitement and he grinned. “Well, there you go.”

“Excuse me?” Julian asked, frowning in confusion. 

“That’s it. They’re treating us like criminals; let’s be criminals. I was a con-man; I know every trick in the book.” He grinned even wider. “Come on, boys. Time to learn some tricks.”

~

They all looked up when they heard someone enter the warehouse, all of them sighed with relief when they saw that it was Ianto and not a stranger.

“Nice car outside,” he commented, placing a bag down. “Who stole that?”

Jack raised his hand with a grin that was almost proud. “Could you have stolen something more obvious?” Ianto asked, rolling his eyes as he threw bags at Julian and Mark. 

“Oh, I love you!” Mark breathed, opening the carrier bag and seeing clean clothes inside.

“What happened to you?” Jack asked, watching as Ianto passed clothes to Julian. “We thought you’d been arrested.”

Ianto snorted with laughter. “It wouldn’t be the first time. Even if they had caught me, do you think a prison cell would be able to hold me?” He shook his head in amusement, “I was getting essentials, which I bet none of you thought to get.”

They all looked down in embarrassment and Ianto rolled his eyes. “I swear. You’d all be lost without me. That’s why I got food and toilet paper. Not to mention, coffee, because I’m not spending another minute with you when you’re going through caffeine withdrawal,” he added, glaring at Jack who shrugged his shoulders unrepentantly.

“And, even more important than coffee and toilet roll, I got this.” He handed a brown paper parcel to Jack. “Found it in an antique clothing store, so it might smell a bit funny.”

“Oh, you’re kidding!” Jack exclaimed, pulling back the paper with fervour he reserved for Christmas morning. “I love you,” he breathed seriously, and Ianto wasn’t sure if he was talking to the coat, or the assassin that had delivered it.

“You’re welcome,” Ianto replied. “Now go get changed, all of you, and we can get to work figuring this out,” he ordered with a grin.

~

TBC


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Jack stared in horror at the computer screen. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. It had been so long; how could the past come back to haunt him after such a long time?

“Will?” Ianto asked, turning in his chair and looking up at his partner. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Jack blinked and took a step back. “I’m fine,” he croaked, turning on his heel and practically running away from him. “I won’t be long.”

“Dad?” Mark asked, frowning deeply in confusion. 

Ianto shook his head, “I’ll deal with him,” he said. “You think of a way for us to get inside Whitehall.”

He had to jog to keep up with Jack, only just managing to catch him before he left the warehouse. “Will Kanaris, don’t you dare walk away from me!” Ianto shouted, closing the door behind him; he didn’t want Mark hearing what was being said.

Jack paused mid-step and slowly turned to face the assassin, tears shining in his eyes. “What?” he asked with his voice thick with emotion.

“Where are you going?” Ianto asked in concern, slowly approaching the older man. 

“I need some fresh air,” Jack lied inconvincibly. 

Ianto snorted with sarcastic laughter. “Yeah, right,” he muttered. “Try that on someone who hasn’t known you for hundreds of years. What’s wrong? You know those names, don’t you? Why else would you have brought up those pictures?”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t get why Frobisher has released those names after all this time. They died years ago, why now?” he mumbled, more to himself than Ianto.

“Will,” Ianto sighed, “what are you talking about?”

“Those people you asked me if I knew,” Jack sighed. “I did know them. But I never knew their names. They were just people I was working with; all of them worked for Torchwood Glasgow back then.”

“Back when?”

Jack closed his eyes, only to open them when he saw what he had done replying on the back of his eyelids. “In 1965. I have to go…”

“Damn you, Will!” Ianto snapped, grabbing Jack’s arm and turning him around. “Go where? Tell me where the fuck you’re going or you’re not going anywhere!”

“They have Alice, okay?” Jack retorted, his voice just as angry as Ianto’s.

The assassin recoiled and released Jack’s arm. “W… What?” he stammered. “Who?”

“Frobisher,” Jack replied, his eyes filling with tears once more. “While we were out stealing things, I broke into his house and stole his wife’s phone. He’s our go to man in the government, and he’s turned against us. I needed him to know that we’re not going to back down.”

“And as a result, they’ve taken our only daughter?” Ianto replied. “Damn you, Will! How could you be so careless? What about Stephen?” Jack remained silent and Ianto shook his head. “No…” he breathed. “They have him as well.”

Jack nodded regretfully. “I didn’t want to tell you. I hoped I’d be able to figure out a way to get them back without telling you I’d messed up. Again.”

“We can’t tell Mark,” Ianto stated. “He’s already under enough stress as it is – him and the baby. He doesn’t need to know that his sister is in danger as well; that was supposed to be the upside to Alice not having anything to do with Torchwood. They were supposed to be safer.”

“We’ll get her back,” Jack tried to assure Ianto. “We’ll get them both back.”

Ianto nodded firmly. “I know we will. Because if they so much as lay a finger on their heads, there won’t be anywhere on Earth they’ll be able to hide; I will find them.”

Jack smiled tightly as he witnessed the assassin in Ianto coming through. 

“Why did they release those names now?” Ianto asked, getting back to the original question. The sooner they figured things out, the sooner they could get Alice and Stephen back, and Ianto could kill Frobisher. “What good is it going to do?”

The Captain shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe he thought if he released their names to the press it would drive me out from underground?” he ventured a guess. “None of them had any children, so it wouldn’t matter it their details were released three hundred years later. Only I would know the significance of the names.”

“And the significance is…?” Ianto pressed.

“They were around when the 456 first came here,” Jack told him. “I’m going to go call Frobisher. I can’t do it from here; they’ll be able to trace the call.”

Ianto nodded his head. “Go. I’ll stay here and make sure Mark is safe.”

They exchanged a soft kiss before parting ways, Jack leaving the building and Ianto heading back to join his son and son-in-law.

 

~

TBC


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

“Where’s Dad?” Mark asked, looking up when Ianto returned alone. 

The assassin shook his head. “He’s just gone to get something,” he replied, hating that he was lying to his son, but at that moment he didn’t see another option. “Have there been any more reports from the children?” he asked, changing the subject and sitting down in Jack’s vacated chair.

Mark shook his head, flicking back to the police’s software. “Nothing more than what there was a few hours ago. They seem to have gone quiet for the time being.”

“We need to know what’s going on in Thames House,” Julian stated from where he was sitting a few feet behind them, scrolling through something on one of their stolen laptops.

Ianto nodded in agreement. “He’s right. If they’re building something that’s top secret, it must be something big – and, probably very dangerous. I don’t trust this government enough with dangerous weapons.”

Mark snorted with laughter. “Considering they tried to blow us up, I think you’re allowed to not trust them,” he replied.

Ianto grinned and patted Mark’s arm. “I didn’t trust them before all this happened,” he said. “I stopped trusting official bodies a long time ago.”

Mark looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, but Ianto shook his head; there were a few things from his past that the assassin didn’t want their children knowing – running away and letting innocent people get blown up was one of them. 

“It was a long time ago,” he muttered with a wave of his hand. “But untrustworthy governments unfortunately do not go away any time soon.”

Mark frowned but decided to not press the matter. He had learnt long ago that if he pressed either of his parents for information, he wouldn’t get it. “The fact still remains; we need to get into that building.”

“And they’re not just going to let you walk in there,” Julian commented. “They’re more likely to arrest us all on sight.”

Ianto looked over at Mark, who was looking away with a guilty expression on his face. “You’ve thought of a way, haven’t you?” he accused his son.

The young man turned to look at him and sighed. “Yeah,” he agreed. “But I don’t think you’re going to like it,” he added.

Ianto winced, not entirely sure he wanted to know where Mark was going with his train of thought, before lifting his eyes and meeting Mark’s own. “Right now I’m probably not going to like anything you say – regardless of what it is. But, judging by your reluctance to tell me, I’m presuming you can’t think of anything else, so it’s probably the only option we have left.”

Mark nodded slowly. “Unfortunately.” He got to his feet and crossed over to where they had spread out the items they had managed to collect, and picked up the contact lenses he had made Julian grab before they’d left Cardiff. “But, I was thinking; these aren’t just contact lenses, these are Torchwood contact lenses.”

The assassin raised an eyebrow. “You brought them with you,” he stated. “Do I even want to know what you were doing with them at home?” he asked.

“No,” Mark replied honestly, feeling no shame at admitting it; although Ianto could feel a little embarrassment coming from the Torchwood Agent’s partner.

Ianto laughed and shook his head. “Okay, so, who are you going to get to wear them, genius? We can’t wear them. Like Julian said, we’d be arrested on sight if we went anywhere near Thames House.”

Mark shifted uncomfortably and a guilty look appeared on his face again. “Well, as far as I can tell, there’s only one person in Thames House that’s still talking to us, and that believes we’re not the bad guys. But you’re not going to like who it is at all.”

 

~

TBC


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Mark shifted uncomfortably in his seat; he wasn’t comfortable with being out in the open when there were so many people after him. But there was no way Ianto could have come, and Mark hadn’t been about to let Julian leave the warehouse; it made more sense for someone who had been trained by an assassin to leave – at least Mark could protect himself more than Julian could.

He looked up when footsteps approached the table and he smiled as Cali placed a drink in front of him. “Thanks,” he said, taking a small drink of the hot chocolate; she hadn’t even asked him, just made a beeline for the counter, but she had still got his favourite beverage right. 

Cali grinned and slid into the seat opposite him. “Are you sure you should be running around in the open?” she asked in concern. “You do look quite like Grandpa,” she added, staring at him.

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “I’m not going to be long and I’m not going to let my guard down.”

“I bet you’re armed as well,” Cali added. Mark raised an eyebrow, silently asking how she had known that and she chuckled, “You’re Grandpa’s son,” he pointed out. “There’s no way he’s going to let you out without a weapon.”

“That still sounds strange,” Mark murmured, flashing her a grin. “It’s Tad.”

“Not to me,” Cali retorted with a wide grin of her own. “Haven’t you figured out that our family is strange, by now?” she asked.

"You could call it that," Mark said with a smirk. "Alice calls it something else. Then again, it's always bothered her." He loved his sister, but he couldn't understand her attitude towards their parents. Their immortality was not their fault, yet Alice acted like they'd done it to deliberately hurt her. Anyone with half a brain could see that it hurt them far more. 

"Now that's a look of sibling love," Cali joked.

Mark laughed and spooned a bit of sugar into the chocolate; it was strange to feel so at ease around someone he hadn’t seen for his entire life. “Speaking of siblings, where’s Gwyn?” he asked curiously, wondering where his oldest nephew was and taking another drink.

Cali grimaced and rolled her eyes. “He was travelling with Great-Grandpa,” she replied. “The Doctor,” she explained after a second.

“I know who your Great-Grandpa is, Cali,” Mark sighed.

“Oh, sorry,” she blushed, lowering her head; her blonde hair falling in front of her eyes.

“What do you mean he was travelling with him? Why isn’t he anymore?” Mark pressed, concerned that something had happened.

Cali laughed and shrugged her shoulders. “They’re far too alike to be travelling together. They’ve tried it a few times in the past, but have never lasted longer than a few weeks before they want to kill each other. I don’t know how long it’s going to be before they realise they’re best kept apart, but I hope it’s sooner rather than later.”

“Last I heard, Gwyn had settled on Nivearlia Peninsula in the fifty-second Century, and was doing research on the history of the settlement. Apparently, our family is connected to it somehow, or something.” She rolled her eyes and yawned mockingly, “I don’t know; I stopped paying attention. He’s such an old man sometimes,” she muttered. 

“He’s younger than you are, Cali,” Mark pointed out with a laugh. 

Cali scowled and shrugged her shoulders. “You wouldn’t think so sometimes,” she replied. 

They fell silent for a few minutes as they drunk their beverages, before Mark asked, “Are you sure about this?”

The female Time Lord immediately nodded her head, not even hesitating for a second. Cali looked down at the contact lenses in front of her. “Granddad doesn’t know about this, does he?” she countered with her own question.

Mark shook his head. “How’d you know that?”

“Because there is no way he’d let me,” Cali explained, the corners of her mouth turning up in a small smile. “Grandpa wouldn’t be happy about it, but he wouldn’t stop me. Granddad on the other hand…”

“Does that mean you’re going to do it?” Mark asked with his eyes wide and hopeful.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” Cali whined. “Makes me feel like I’ll agree to anything.”

Mark grinned widely. “Have you used them before?” he asked. Having not met her before, he was unsure about what she had, or hadn’t, done.

Cali nodded her head, not in the least bit annoyed by Mark’s question. “They’re pretty low tech by today’s standard but at least they won’t trip any bug detectors.”

“I appreciate you doing this, you know?” Mark said softly.

Cali smiled. “There are too many children in our family for me not to do something.”

“You don’t have any, do you?” he ventured a guess.

Cali rolled her eyes. “You sound like Dad,” she chuckled. “He’s always going on at me about Grandchildren.”

“You don’t want any?” Mark asked, hoping he wasn’t stepping over some kind of line by asking.

“There was a time; a long time ago, when I thought I did,” she confessed, her eyes drifting off to a point over Mark’s shoulder. “But, things just didn’t work.”

“What happened?” Mark questioned. “I’m sorry, that’s really-,”

Cali cut him off by placing a hand on his arm. “There’s no such thing as too personal a question in our family. But, to answer your question, Torchwood happened,” she whispered sadly.

They were silent for a moment before Cali beamed again. “I think Dad wants as grandchildren many as Grandpa and Granddad. Gwyn has three, that’s all Dad’s getting at the moment.”

“I don’t think Dad and Tad would say no to more Great-grandchildren,” Mark murmured, looking down into his cup. 

Cali frowned and reached across, patting his hand. “Do they know?” she asked softly. “About…” 

Mark smiled. “Yeah. They think it’s great. It’s me that’s scared, you know?”

Cali grinned and leant across, hugging her uncle tightly. “You’ll be fine. I’ve seen Granddad and Grandpa go through this before with the twins – and you, actually - you’ll be okay.”

Mark grimaced. “Okay, that’s freaky,” he muttered. “You look the same age as me. I know you’re not, and I know why you don’t look your age, it’s just weird.”

Cali laughed and shook her head. “Try explaining to your friends why your Grandparents look the same as your parents. We used to just call them Jack and Ianto in public.”

The young man chuckled and nodded his head. “Yeah, I do that when I’m with my friends now. Raises too many questions otherwise. They like to make things complicated for us, don’t they?”

Cali grinned. “But we love them for it and wouldn’t want them any other way.”

Mark smiled as well. “Yeah,” he agreed, looking back down at the contact lenses. “How are you going to get into Thames House?” he asked after a moment.

The Time Lord shrugged her shoulders, sliding the contact lenses into her pocket. “Don’t worry, Marky Mark,” she soothed, getting to her feet and pressing a kiss against his hair. “I’ll figure something out.”

~  
TBC


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“Oh shit that’s not good!” Julian exclaimed as he and Ianto watched a large ball of fire fall from the sky and enter Thames House.

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” Ianto muttered, pushing past Julian and running back into the warehouse. “This must be something to do with the 456,” he added, sprinting back over to the computers and bringing up the live news feed.

“All the children have gone back to normal,” Julian read over Ianto’s shoulder. “Whatever these 456 have done to them has stopped.”

“For now at least,” Ianto muttered.

They both jumped when the mobile phone rang nearby. Ianto chuckled at their jumpiness as he reached out and grabbed it. “Yeah?” he greeted.

“Did you see that?” Mark immediately demanded, fear, amazement and confusion lacing his voice.

“Yeah,” Ianto replied. “We were on the roof watching. Where are you?”

“Just got Clement released from the police station,” Mark answered. “You owe me big time. I had to do some serious flirting with the Chief to get him released. And, if you tell Julian I will find a way to kill you; I don’t care how long it takes.”

Ianto laughed and rolled his eyes. “I won’t,” he muttered, trying very hard to not look at Julian and give it away. “But you need to get back here immediately. I don’t want you wandering around out there with these things on Earth.”

“Trust me, I don’t want me out here either,” Mark replied. “We’re on our way back. Have you heard anything from Dad?”

Ianto shook his head. “Not yet. He’ll be fine; he shouldn’t be long either. Be careful,” he ordered, cancelling the call and sliding it back on to the table next to him.

“Was that Mark?” Julian asked, looking hopeful.

Ianto nodded. “He’s fine,” he assured the doctor, trying to soothe his worries for his partner. “They both are. He’s bringing Clem back here, so we can keep an eye on him.”

~

Clem looked around the warehouse with wide eyes as he ate the hotdogs Mark had made for them. He seemed to be devouring them like he hadn’t eaten for weeks.

“Here, save some for the rest of us,” Julian commented with a grin.

Clem looked at him and frowned. “He’s your…” he looked at Mark, unsure of what word to use.

“He’s my partner,” Mark supplied with a nod of his head, “yes.”

“And who’s he?” Clem asked, nodding to Ianto who was standing a few feet away.

Mark grinned. “That’s my father,” he answered; a sadistic part of him enjoying how Clem’s eyes almost fell out of his head comically.

“But… That’s… He… He looks the same age as you,” Clem sputtered.

Ianto smirked and shook his head, turning back to the computer. “Trust me, I’m older than I look.”

Clem frowned deeply before shrugging his shoulders. “I suppose it could be possible. You’re a man and you’re pregnant,” he said, looking at Mark, “he looks your age, but he’s your dad. It makes no sense, but if you say that’s how it is, I believe you.”

“Whoa!” Ianto cried, making them all jump. “It’s working, she’s put the contact lenses in.”

“Cali?” Mark asked, getting to his feet and running over to his father. 

Ianto rolled his eyes. “No, Queen Victoria. Yes, Cali; who else?” 

Mark glared at him, before pushing him out of the way and typing away at the computer. ‘Thank you, M.’

They could see Cali reflected in the mirror and she grinned at them. “No problem,” she said, the lip reading software working easily.

“She’s regenerated again,” Ianto murmured, leaning over and typing at the keyboard. ‘You’re looking good, Cali.’

She grinned wider and smoothed her hair down. “Thanks, Grandpa,” she replied.

‘How did you know it was me?’

The Time Lord’s reflection rolled its eyes. “Because Granddad calls me Princess,” she reminded him. “Even now.”

She sighed and composed herself as she placed the contact lenses in her bag. “Right then, this is it,” she sighed.

‘How did you get in there?’ Ianto typed.

Cali grimaced and shook her head. “You really don’t want to know. No, trust me Grandpa, you really don’t.” She took another deep breath and added, “Good luck.”

~

TBC


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

They watched Frobisher approach the box containing the 456. “I can’t hear what they’re saying,” Mark grumbled, leaning back in his chair and sulkily folding his arms across his chest.

Julian swatted him on the shoulder. “None of us can,” he muttered. “She needs to get closer.”

Ianto shook his head. “I’m not putting her in anymore danger than she’s already in.” He bit his lip in thought before quickly typing something neither of them could see.

The picture on the computer screen slowly moved up and down as she nodded her head. Ianto grinned when he saw her reach into her bag and pull out a notebook and pen. He knew to most people in the room, it would look as though she was taking notes, but he would be able to read her writing.

Cali scribbled something down on the paper and Mark frowned deeply. “That’s not even English,” he stated. “I don’t even know what language that is.”

“Is it Frezanian?” Julian asked, knowing the name of Ianto and Jack’s native tongue.

Mark shook his head. “I’d be able to read that,” he answered. “I’ve never seen that before.”

Ianto rolled his eyes. “It’s Gallifraen,” he informed them. “The Doctor taught her how to speak it when she was a kid. It used to piss your dad off really bad. When she was a teenager, she used to back talk us in Gallifraen.” 

Mark raised an eyebrow, disbelief clearly written all over his face. “Trust me; she wasn’t always as nice as she is now. She went through the typical teenage phase, just like every other member of this family,” Ianto added at Mark’s look. 

“Eventually the Doctor relented and taught it to me and your dad. You should have seen the look on her face when she realised we knew what she was saying.”

They fell silent as they watched the proceeds, the only sound coming from Ianto occasionally as he read out what Cali was writing. 

Suddenly they heard the squeal of tires from outside the warehouse and Ianto’s hand immediately went to the gun that was lying next to the computer.

“Tad!” Mark hissed as the assassin moved to get up to investigate the sound.

“I’ll be fine,” Ianto stated.

Mark rolled his eyes. “It’s not that. Cali’s written something else and I don’t know what it says.”

Briefly, Ianto turned back to the computer and felt his stomach drop as he read the words his Granddaughter had written. “Oh god,” he murmured. “They want children.”

“Children?” Julian repeated in confusion.

“Our – the people of Earth’s – children to be specific,” Ianto read further, his voice still nothing more than a whisper. 

Clem jumped to his feet. “They want them. They want to take them, like they did before. Like the man did.”

Mark frowned deeply and looked over at Clem. “Like what man did?” he asked.

Clem smelt the air and frowned deeply. “He’s come back,” he whispered. “How is that…? He’s come back. He’s…” he trailed off and pointed towards the exit of the warehouse, reminding them all that they hadn’t investigated the noise they had heard.

Jack approached them and Mark sighed with relief when he saw his father. “Calm down,” Mark instructed, looking back at Clem. “It’s fine.”

“He hasn’t changed,” Clem whispered, his eyes wide in fear. “He’s the same. After all these years, how can he be the same?”

Mark frowned again. “What’s he talking about, Dad?”

Jack sighed and recited, “Clement McDonald. Just another name.” Clem started in fear at hearing Jack say his name. “It was easier that way,” Jack whispered. “If you didn’t know their names.”

“You were there?” Mark asked in surprise. “In 1965?”

Clem nodded and answered for Jack. “It was him; he was the man. He sent us to them.”

“No,” Mark whispered, crouching down a little so he could look into Clem’s eyes. “It’s okay. You’re getting confused. This is what he does; he works with us. He fights aliens. Isn’t that right, Dad?”

There was silence and Mark looked up to see Jack staring straight at them. “Dad?” Mark pressed. “Tell him you just fight aliens; that’s all,” he begged.

“No,” Jack answered with a sigh. “He’s right. I gave them the kids. In 1965 I gave them twelve children,” Jack confessed, his voice emotionless as he stared through them.

“What?” Ianto exclaimed in horror. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

Jack blinked and turned his head, finally making eye contact with Ianto. “As a gift,” he spoke, his words chilling Ianto to the bone.

~

TBC


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Silence filled the warehouse after Jack’s statement. None of them spoke as they took in what the Captain had just confessed.

It was Ianto who finally broke the silence, “If you don’t start explaining right now, Jack, you’re going to have one Hell of a headache,” he threatened, nodding to the gun nearby.

Jack’s eyes widened when he realised the implication of Ianto’s words, before running a hand through his hair. “It was a long time ago,” he murmured. “I thought we’d satisfied them.”

Ianto folded his arms across his chest and sat down. “When I said you had some explaining to do, I think I should have added ‘in English’ on the end of it.”

“It was 1965,” Jack said, sighing with exasperation. “They’d sent us a message on the 456 frequency. They wanted twelve children – that’s it, just twelve.”

“And you just thought, sure why not?” Mark asked in confusion.

Jack glanced at him and shook his head. “Of course not,” he swore. “They threatened to release a virus into this world – a new strain on the Indonesian flu. Experts claimed it could kill up to twenty-five million people. Twelve children in exchange for the lives of twenty-five million didn’t seem too unreasonable.”

“You didn’t even try to barter with them?” Ianto asked. “Try to talk them out of it, or offer something else?”

“Of course we did,” Jack snapped. “Torchwood and UNIT tried everything they could think of. But in the end, twelve children was what they wanted. So that’s what we had to give.”

“And you just gave them to the 456?” Mark asked, looking down his nose at Jack.

Jack shook his head. “It’s not like that. I didn’t want anything to do with it,” he swore. “But Torchwood wouldn’t let me back away. I was on secondment to Glasgow and that was closest to the place designated by the 456; and apparently I was the only one with the balls to go through with it. I don’t know how Clement got here, maybe he fell through the Rift, I don’t know.”

Clem, who had been watching Jack with fear the entire time he had been speaking, suddenly began mumbling under his breath. “It was you… You are in every nightmare I’ve ever had.”

Before any of them could react or stop him, Clem lunged for the gun Ianto had been eying up a short while before and fired a single bullet into Jack’s chest.

Immediately, Ianto jumped to his feet, catching Jack as his dead body fell to the ground.

“Stay away!” Clem growled when Mark tried to take a step towards him.

Mark shook his head. “You’ve just shot my father, Clem. If you think I’m going to let you shoot anyone else you are sorely mistaken.” He quickly disarmed him and handed the gun to Julian, before pulling Clem closer.

The instant Clem felt arms around him he crumpled and let out a sob. “Oh God. I killed a man,” he cried.

Ianto was sitting on the floor, Jack’s head cradled in his lap as he ran a hand over his partner’s face. “He’s not that easy to kill,” he murmured distractedly, just as Jack gasped back to life, making Clem scream.

“Shh…” Mark hurried to quieten him. “It’s okay. This is normal; this is what he does,” he added, glancing over at Jack who was holding on to Ianto as tight as he could. “You get used to it after a while.”

~

TBC


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Ianto watched Jack silently as he changed into a clean shirt. Mark had run off after Clem to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid and Julian, sensing that there were about to be fireworks between the couple, wisely decided to follow.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, trying to keep his voice low and calm, even though he was feeling anything but.

Jack shrugged his shoulders, fixing the collar on his shirt and grabbing his coat. “They didn’t speak through children back then. I didn’t realise we were dealing with the same things.” He grimaced at the amount of blood on the greatcoat before slipping it on; sometimes he couldn’t afford to be choosy.

“That’s not what I mean, Will, and you know it,” Ianto replied, finally allowing some of his anger seep into his voice. “You said the 456 first appeared in 1965. That’s three hundred years ago.”

“I know,” Jack sighed, sitting down and looking up at Ianto.

“Three hundred years and you never told me,” Ianto added, sitting next to Jack. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t take the kids and leave you here to figure this out for yourself.”

Jack ran a hand through his hair and over at where Mark and Julian had disappeared. “Because you wouldn’t do that. You care too much.”

“I’m an assassin, Will,” Ianto reminded him. “My primary aim is to look out for number one. And, right now, number one isn’t you or I. It’s our family. Getting them to safety is top priority.”

Jack nodded his head. “But you know that’s not going to work,” he replied. “Mark’s too stubborn and Jules will never let him stay here by himself.”

Ianto stared at him for a long moment before inclining his head slightly. “I will stay and help fix this on one condition,” he bargained. “If everything goes to hell – which, let’s face it, probably will happen – then we send Mark and Jules back to Cardiff. They’re not the only family we have.”

“I agree,” Jack said. “It won’t be easy, sending them away, but we will think of something. Do you hate me?” he asked, chewing his lip almost nervously.

“I could never hate you, Will,” Ianto replied, leaning over and kissing his partner softly. “I hate your decisions and what you’ve done; but I could never hate the person making them.”

~

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Alice wrapped her arm around her son as they walked through the building. She memorised the path they had taken in case they had a chance to get out of there.

“This is to do with Grandpa and Granddad, isn’t it?” Stephen asked as they walked, making Alice’s chest hurt; sometimes he was far too observant for his own good – not that it was difficult to work out that something had gone wrong somewhere.

“Don’t worry,” Alice tried to soothe him. “It’s a mistake. We’ll be out of here soon.”

Stephen nodded his head. “They’ll get us out,” he decided, showing complete faith in his Grandparents.

“Yeah,” Alice agreed.

Agent Johnson stopped in front of the cell. “In here,” she ordered. Alice paused in the doorway and ushered Stephen inside. “He knows Harkness and Jones are his Grandparents?” she asked in surprise.

Alice scowled. “Of course he knows,” she snapped. “He worships the very ground they walk on.”

“I would have thought it would raise too many questions,” Johnson confessed. “When mum looks older than Granddad.”

Alice looked back at Stephen, before turning fully to face Johnson. “I can only assume that you’re holding me here as insurance against my parents,” Alice said, her voice too quiet for Stephen to hear. “But, let me warn you this, if you’ve angered them, then god help you.”

Johnson raised an eyebrow. “This is coming from the woman who spent half her life trying to run away and distance herself from them?” she asked incredulously.

Alice looked up and met Johnson’s eyes. “And why do you think I did that? One man who can’t die has nothing to fear. Imagine what two of them could do.”

 

~

TBC


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“Cali has managed to get us into Thames House,” Ianto stated, not letting any emotion show in his voice as he spoke to Jack.

“Who?” Jack asked. “Mark’s not going in there.”

Mark raised an eyebrow. “I’m a big boy, Dad. If I want to go in there, I can. But, Tad and I figured out a plan while you were off gallivanting around London.”

Jack glared at him a little, but didn’t comment. “Go on then, genius. What’s this plan?”

“Mark is staying here,” Ianto explained. “With Clem. We’ve been recording what they were saying and Julian is going to go to a secure location with the footage. Me and you will go to Thames House and speak to the 456.”

“And if everything goes south?” Jack asked.

“Then Julian will send the footage to every major news network in the world,” Ianto stated with a shrug of his shoulders. “It will bring the government down easily.”

“Are you sure about this?” Julian asked, interrupting Ianto’s explanation and looking at the Harkness-Jones’ with worry.

Mark shook his head. “Not at all,” he replied, getting to his feet and sliding his arms around his partner’s waist. “But it’s the only choice we have. I promise you, I won’t put myself – and the baby - in unnecessary danger.” He leant up, pressing a soft kiss against Julian’s lips.

“We’ll make sure they’ll be safe,” Ianto swore. “Only Jack and I are going to Thames house. Mark is going to stay here where it’s safe.”

“But,” Mark interjected, “in case anything does go wrong – as a back-up plan more than anything – we need someone who they don’t know about, hidden away where you won’t be found, and that won’t be a danger to you.”

Julian didn’t look happy about Mark being involved in what was about to go down, but he knew there was no way he could win an argument against three of the Harkness-Jones men. “Fine,” he sighed, kissing Mark once more, ignoring Jack and Ianto making cooing noises. “You swear you’ll try your hardest to stay safe?”

Mark nodded his head, hugging him tightly. “I promise,” he swore. “And when this is all over, I’ll even help you paint the nursery.”

~

TBC


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

They left the Porsche parked in the middle of a traffic jam, despites Jack’s protests about leaving such a pretty car, and began to make the rest of the journey on foot.

Ianto quickly pulled out his phone and called Rhiannon, ordering her to keep an eye on Mica and David. He knew the phone call would be traced and it wouldn’t be long before whoever was listening in made the connection between their location and the old warehouse that had once belonged to Torchwood London, so many centuries before.

“Do you think they fell for it?” Jack asked over his shoulder, never stopping as he marched towards Thames House.

The assassin nodded his head. “There was definitely someone listening in. I could hear a tiny clicking noise; you know how easy it is to spot an old fashioned wiretap these days. They’re probably on their way to Mark right now.”

Jack sighed and finally came to a stop on the stairs entering the building. “He’ll be okay, won’t he?” he asked, worry seeping into his voice. After what had happened with Landon's birth, Jack had refused to allow Ianto to get pregnant again. Having carried both Alice and Mark, the Captain had always been overprotective of them.

Ianto nodded his head, trying to reassure both himself and Jack that their son and the next Torchwood baby would be okay. “They seem to want us, not the kids. You spoke to Frobisher yourself; Alice and Stephen are still alive. We’re the targets, not them.”

~

Ianto could taste it in the air; filtering through the building’s air conditioning and invading his own biological system. It had already started attacking his system, trying to destroy him.

He cocked the hammer back on the gun in his hand and lifted it up. He thought about all the children in the world – about his own children, who were thankfully grown up and unaffected by the 456, about his grandchildren – and stared at the chamber in front of him.

“Call it off,” he ordered, talking directly to the alien invaders. “You can’t have our children, and if you do this we will go to war.”

“Your proposition to go to war is acceptable,” the alien voice spoke through the speakers.

Almost as if by magic, Jack appeared at Ianto’s side, gun out and aimed at the chamber. They didn’t need to speak, both knew enough about the other’s body language to know when the timing was right.

The bullets they fired at the glass did nothing other than scratch it and, as the bullets bounced on to the floor, Ianto knew there was nothing their guns could do. They were useless.

Eventually the bullets ran out and they lowered their weapons. “We need to get out of here,” Jack said, pocketing the gun and turning to face his partner.

Ianto shook his head, the movement alone hurting more than anything he had felt for a long time. His lungs were burning, filling with blood and he knew it wouldn’t be long before it was too late. “I can’t move,” he replied, his voice nothing more than a whisper.

Jack looked at him in horror and reached up, wiping a droplet of blood away from the corner of his partner’s mouth. “Ianto…” he said, grabbing him by the arms and trying to drag him across the room. “We have to get out of here.”

“Why are you even bothering to get me out?” Ianto laughed to himself, sliding to the ground. “It won’t be permanent.”

Jack knelt down next to him and brushed Ianto’s hair away from his face. “I know it won’t. But dying like this is painful.”

Ianto chuckled, droplets of blood flying from his lips and splattering over his chin. “I’ll be fine,” he replied. He wanted to bring a hand up and place it on Jack’s arm, but he couldn’t find the energy in him to move.

“I love you, Ianto,” Jack whispered, leaning down and pressing a kiss on the former assassin’s blood stained lips.

“Don’t say it like that,” Ianto chided. “You’re saying it like I’m not going to come back. You know I’m coming back; just like you did when you got blown up. We always do. But, for what it’s worth, you know I love you too, Will.”

As Ianto died, he felt soft lips press weakly against his own and he sensed Jack collapsing next to him as the virus finally killed the older immortal.

~

TBC


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

His boots echoed loud in the silent hall as he strode between the bodies. Dozens of people had died, maybe even hundreds; he didn’t have the final body count.

“Here?” he asked, looking at the guards that were accompanying him.

One of them nodded and pointed to two red sheets a few feet away. “Thirteen and fourteen,” he replied.

With a nod of his head, the young man moved away from the guards and approached the bodies.

Crouching down, he reached out and pulled one of the sheets back. He’d always found it ironic that in death Jack finally looked as though he were at peace, only to be returned to hell moments later.

He reached out and removed the red sheet from where it was covering Ianto’s body. Like Jack, Ianto looked every bit as peaceful in death; far more than he ever did in life.

“How long have they been like this?” he called over his shoulder, not looking back at the guards.

“About three hours, sir,” the guard replied, not moving from where Mark had left him.

Almost on command, he heard a gasp from the side of him, far quieter than usual. “That wasn’t very dramatic for you,” he commented, sitting back on his heels and pulling the sheet back, allowing Jack to sit up properly.

Jack rolled his eyes and looked over at Ianto, who was still lying perfectly still. “He died before I did, why hasn’t he woken up yet?” Jack demanded, looking over at their son as though he knew all the answers.

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe it’s got something to do with-,”

He never managed to finish his theory as Ianto gasped and flailed around for a moment as life returned to him once more. 

“Well, that explains it,” Mark mused.

“Explains what?” Ianto asked, clutching his chest as he coughed painfully. “Fuck that hurts.”

“Dad didn’t do his usual dramatic wake up, because he’s passed it on to you,” Mark replied with a grin, earning him a punch on the shoulder from the Captain.

Ianto chuckled and, with a groan, pushing himself into an upright position. “What happened?” he asked, allowing Mark and Jack to pull him to his feet. “Why are you fine?” he demanded before Mark could answer him, glaring at Jack.

“I’ve been poisoned to death before,” Jack replied with a shrug. “It’s not that different.” He turned to look at Mark and repeated Ianto’s earlier question. “What happened?”

Mark shrugged his shoulders, looking like a perfect replica of Jack. “Nothing. The 456 have been quiet since they deactivated the virus.”

Ianto sighed and flexed his fingers, “I suppose this means we’ve got work to do?” he asked, looking over at Jack.

“Oh yeah,” Jack replied, flashing them both his trademark smile. “We’ve got lots to do. They wanted a war; we’re giving them a war.”

~

TBC


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Ianto looked over at Mark, who was standing talking to a guard, going through a list of all the people that had been killed by the toxin the 456 had released into the building.

“You promised me, Will,” he murmured, glancing over at his partner. As he turned his head, he caught the smell coming from his clothes and grimaced; he absolutely stunk. He needed to get changed into some fresh ones, but he seriously doubted they had the time.

“I know,” Jack whispered, looking over at Mark sadly. “How are we going to send him away?” he asked.

They both looked up when Frobisher returned, sitting opposite them. “You’re both going to be arrested,” the older man – well older looking, anyway – stated, looking at them both with weary eyes.

“What?” Ianto exclaimed. “What the fuck for?” he hissed.

Frobisher raised an eyebrow. “You blackmailed your way in here and challenged the 456, getting people killed in the process. That’s not even touching on the charges of treason against the Crown.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Treason against the Crown,” he scoffed. “That’s bullshit and you know it. You’re just afraid that whatever you do we won’t agree to it. This way you can keep us out of the way as you murder the entire population of this Earth.”

Frobisher glared at Jack. “Even if that were true, nothing you can say would change my mind, Captain. You and Mr Jones are to be imprisoned.”

Ianto’s eyes trailed over to their son who was looking at them in concern. “We will go quietly,” he said, finally breaking eye contact with Mark. “Under two conditions.”

“I highly doubt you’re in any position to make demands,” Frobisher replied.

“Two conditions,” Ianto continued, “or else Torchwood will go public with what we’ve recorded.”

Frobisher swallowed thickly and pushed his glasses up further up his nose. “What… What are the conditions?” he stammered.

“Send Mark back to Cardiff,” Ianto said, his eyes flickering back to the young man. “I don’t want him to see his parents shipped off like common criminals.”

The other man looked as though he was about to argue with Ianto, before his shoulders slumped and he nodded. “Very well,” he agreed. “I will arrange for a helicopter to transport him back to Cardiff immediately.”

“And the other?”

Jack looked over at Ianto, who nodded, before he answered, “Our daughter, Alice and her son. I want them released immediately.”

“And I want to see them,” Ianto added. “I don’t trust that you haven’t done anything to them.”

~

“You can’t let them do this!” Mark shouted over the sound of the helicopter blades. “You can’t honestly think I’m leaving you alone with them,” he looked over in disgust at the officials standing behind his parents. 

“Please, Mark,” Ianto begged, silently imploring him to not make too much of a fuss. “Don’t make this any harder than it is. You’re safer in Cardiff than you are here.”

Jack reached out and hugged his son, despite the officer’s shouts to step back. He ignored them and quickly whispered, “Take care of Rhiannon and the kids. We’ll be back as soon as we can,” before releasing him and stepping back.

Ianto took his cue from Jack and hugged Julian, whispering, “Make sure he looks after himself and the baby.”

Julian smiled through tears and nodded his head, hugging Ianto back tightly, trying to assure him that Mark and the baby would be taken care of.

“That’s enough,” a guard snapped, finally sick of the family moment. “The chopper has to leave now.”

Mark tried to argue with Ianto once more, before Julian finally dragged him away from his parents to the helicopter.

As the chopper took off, Mark didn’t notice guards slap handcuffs on to Jack and Ianto’s wrists, before leading them away to be imprisoned while the world went to Hell.

~

TBC


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Ianto and Jack stumbled as they were pushed through a doorway and the blindfolds were wrenched off their eyes. “What the fuck is going on?” Ianto snapped. They had both been treated like rag dolls since they had been taken from their cells without explanation, and Ianto was sick of it.

He looked around and let out a sigh of relief when he saw Alice standing a few feet away from them. “Oh thank god you’re okay,” he breathed. “What are you doing over there? Come over here!” he ordered, nodded to her to come closer.

Alice indicated that the guards should unfasten their handcuffs before she threw her arms around Ianto enthusiastically. “We’re okay, Tad,” she whispered in his ear before she released him. “Get him his gun back,” she instructed to the guard over his shoulder, making Ianto grin widely and hug her again.

She turned to Jack and hesitated a little, before hugging him. Ianto sighed to himself and shook his head; even in the middle of a potential Armageddon they couldn’t look past their personal grudges. 

Jack swore blind that his over-protective attitude was the same for all their children, but Ianto knew better. Alice was their only daughter; the only daughter Jack had carried since Megan, and he had sworn on the day she had been born that he would protect her with everything he had.

Alice, on the other hand, hated that Jack treated her differently from her brothers. She had walked out as young adult, shouting that she was sick of Jack coddling her, and as a result they hadn’t seen or heard from her, other than an occasional post-card, until she had returned with Joe.

“What’s going on here?” Ianto asked, turning his attention back to the room and the situation they were in.

“You two,” agent Johnson replied, looking between the two immortal men, “are going to fix this. You should have everything you need here, and if you don’t we’ll find it.”

Ianto scoffed and rolled his eyes. “What do you expect us to do?”

“The 456 are named after a wavelength,” Johnson answered. “If we can find the right one maybe, somehow we can use it against them.”

“You’re wasting your time,” a man in a purple shirt commented from behind her.

“Who the Hell are you?” Ianto demanded, glaring at the man.

“Mr Dekker here will help you,” Johnson replied, the tone of her voice leaving no room for argument. “What do think Captain? Mr Jones? Are you up to the challenge?”

Jack looked over at Ianto, before they both nodded their heads. “Let’s get to work,” they said in unison, pulling of their jackets and beginning what was bound to be a long few hours.

~

TBC


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

“If we circle the wave back at them-,” Jack began, but Dekker cut him off.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” he commented from where he was working. “The constructive wave. But it won’t work. It’ll have about the same effect as shouting at the 456. That’s all, shouting at them. Fat lot of good that’s going to do.”

Ianto glared at him and his hand twitched towards his gun. Alice saw his movement and shook her head, placing her hand over her father’s. “Not now, Tad,” she whispered, the corners of her mouth turning up in a smile.

Ianto scowled and moved his hand away from the weapon. “Spoilsport,” he muttered, glaring at her; although there was no malice behind his eyes.

Across the room, Jack bit his lip and folded his arms across his chest in thought. “Clem’s the key to this,” he murmured, running his hand across his jaw. “He got away the first time.”

“Clem’s dead, Jack,” Ianto reminded him softly, moving over so he was standing beside his partner and looking at the computer screen before them. 

Jack nodded. “I know. But why? How did he die?”

Johnson’s eyes widened, “It was them. The 456; they killed him. He just started screaming and covering his ears.”

“Yeah, but why did they do it? How did they do it?” Ianto asked. “His mind must have synced with the 456 when he was a child, but they didn’t need to kill him at the time because he wasn’t a threat.”

“Unless maybe that connection hurt them,” Jack added, realising where Ianto was heading. “Clem’s mind and the 456 were on the same frequency.”

“What?” Johnson asked in surprised. “He’s an adult, is that even possible?”

Ianto chuckled and nodded his head. “Stick with us and you’ll find out that almost anything is possible, agent Johnson. If we can isolate whatever it was that killed Clem, we can turn that into a constructive wave. But we’ve got no way of transmitting it.”

Silence followed Ianto’s statement for a long moment, before Jack argued, “Yes, we have,” looking over at Alice.

“What? No…” Alice breathed, taking a step back from Jack and shaking her head. “You bastard.”

“What?” Agent Johnson demanded, very obviously feeling like she was missing something. “What is she talking about?”

“You’re not doing it,” Alice said, ignoring Johnson and turning on her heel. “No. I won’t let you, Dad.”

She began to run towards the door and Jack sighed heavily, tears filling up in his eyes. “We don’t have a choice,” Jack whispered, looking down at the computer regretfully.

Ianto took a step back, staring at his partner in horror. Surely, he couldn’t have just uttered those words; be thinking of doing what Alice was accusing him off. He wasn’t a strong empath, but he could sense guilt coming from the Captain. He really was planning on using the only child they had in reach; Stephen.

“Like hell we don’t,” Ianto snarled, reaching for his gun once more and placing it to the back of his partner’s head. 

Jack stilled when he felt the cold metal press against his head, but didn’t get a chance to comment before the assassin took the kill shot.

As Ianto pulled the trigger Johnson let out a scream and Alice stopped in her tracks. “You shot him!” Johnson cried, watching as Jack’s lifeless and bloody corpse fell to the ground.

Ianto nodded his head, sliding the gun back into his belt and uncaringly stepping over Jack’s body. “Very well observed,” he replied, tapping away at the keyboard. “Chain him up over there,” he nodded to the opposite end of the room. “Make sure there’s no way he can get out.”

He looked back over at his daughter. “Go. Be with Stephen. We’ll figure this out on our own. Stephen’s safe I swear to you.”

Alice nodded her head and took a step towards the door. “Tad?” she asked with her hand on the door handle. “If he,” she nodded to Jack, “ever comes near me or my son again, I will find a way to kill him. I don’t want to see him again for the rest of my life, understood?”

“Perfectly,” Ianto replied, smiling at her reassuringly; he knew that she didn’t mean she was cutting himself out of their lives, just his partner. “Right now I’m not sure I want to see him again, either.” 

~

TBC


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

When Jack came back to life he was acutely aware of three things. His head was hurting like hell, there was blood on his shirt and he was chained to the wall – or more accurately, the pipe attached to the wall.

“What the Hell is going on?” he demanded angrily, trying to wrench himself free of his shackles. “Who shot me?”

“I did,” Ianto replied, not looking up from where he was looking at the workstation in front of him. “It’s not the first time I’ve done it. You’ll get over it. You’ve shot me in the past, call it a fair trade.”

Jack tugged his arm again, trying and failing to free himself once more before sighing and slumping back against the wall. “Let me go,” he instructed.

Finally Ianto looked up and glared at the Captain. “With everything that you know about me, is there anything that makes you think I’m going to let you order me around?” He shook his head. “You’re staying there; chained up where I can see you.”

“You can’t keep me here, Ianto,” Jack shouted. “We need to…”

“We need to… What?” Ianto snapped, grabbing his gun and stalking across the room to Jack. “Kill the 456? I know; that’s what I’m trying to do. But unlike you, I’m not trying to do it with the ritual sacrifice of our grandson.”

Jack sighed and lowered his head. “The 456 are using children to talk; it makes sense that they’re tuned into their frequency. This might be our only opportunity. I’m thinking about the greater good. One life to save billions of others.”

Ianto crouched down in front of Jack and cocked the hammer back on the gun. “You’re right,” he conceded. “This might be our only opportunity to defeat the 456.”

“Then let me go and we can do that,” Jack tried to reason.

“But…” Ianto continued, placing the gun underneath Jack’s chin, “If you think I’m going to sit back and let you sacrifice an innocent life – especially the life of our grandchild – you are sorely mistaken, Will Kanaris,” he hissed, too quiet for the others in the room to hear.

“Alice knows that sacrifices have to be made sometimes. She will understand…” Jack tried to reason, flinching away from the cold metal.

Ianto snarled and leant closer, not stopping until he and Jack were nose to nose. “Alice will not understand your reasoning, Jack,” he spat sardonically. “Because you’re not going to get a chance to explain it to her. She never wants to see you again.”

“What?” Jack exclaimed. “I’m her father!”

“And Stephen’s Grandfather!” Ianto screamed, getting to his feet and moving away from the captive man. “Yet, look what you were so willing to do. You will stay away from them, Jack,” he called, moving across the room. “You’ve destroyed your relationship with her now.”

Jack watched silently as Ianto moved back to the workstation. “What are you doing?” he asked, trying to see over the high desk. “If you’re not using a child, you can’t-,”

He was cut off when Ianto lifted the gun and pulled the trigger, ending another of the Captain’s lives. 

“Do you have to keep shooting him?” Johnson asked with a grimace as the echo of the gunshot faded.

Ianto nodded his head. “Trust me; after three hundred years, shooting your immortal partner becomes almost therapeutic.”

 

~

TBC


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

“No!” Alice exclaimed, clutching her son to her chest and looking up at Ianto in fear. “You promised he’d be safe,” she accused.

Ianto nodded his head and took a slow step towards them both. “And he will be,” he reassured her. “Come on, Alice. I may be a lot of things, but a liar isn’t one of them. I have never lied to you. But please, you have to trust me.”

Alice shook her head mutely, tears falling unchecked from her eyes. It was Stephen who spoke, patting his mother on the arm, “It’s okay, Mum,” he whispered. “I want to help Grandpa.”

Ianto smiled and knelt down in front of Stephen. “It’ll only hurt for a second,” he murmured, taking his Grandson’s hand in his own. 

“Okay,” Stephen agreed, nothing but childlike trust in his eyes.

Ianto pressed a small, laser-like device to the tip of his finger and almost instantly it began to fill with blood.

“That’s it?” Alice exclaimed in surprise when Ianto had finished and he got to his feet once more.

Ianto nodded and pocketed the vial. “I told you,” he retorted. “Nothing in the world is going to make me harm my family. I think – I hope – this will work, but if it doesn’t, we’ll just have to think of another way. I don’t care how long it takes or how many times I have to kill your father, I’ll figure something out.”

Stephen let out a horrified gasp at Ianto’s words and the assassin ran his hand over his hair. “Don’t worry,” he assured him. “I’m only joking,” he lied; maybe he was a liar after all. 

~

Jack looked up when he heard the door open and watched Ianto enter the room. From where he was still chained to the wall he could see Ianto place something on the table and see him mumble something to a man behind him; although he couldn’t hear the words that were being said.

Finally unable to take it anymore, Jack called across to Ianto, “What’s that?” He nodded to the table in front of the assassin.

Ianto ignored him and held his hand out, accepting a needle from the man. “I’ll need you to inject this,” he said, looking over at Johnson as the filled the syringe with red liquid.

Johnson nodded, pulling her black gloves off as she watched the cylinder fill. 

“I asked what that was, you bastard!” Jack shouted across the room, finally getting Ianto’s attention.

He raised an eyebrow and placed the needle down. “That is a vial filled with Stephen’s blood,” he finally answered, unfastening his shirt and throwing it on to a chair behind him. “You do remember him, right? Our Grandson.”

Jack glared at him. “Don’t be an arsehole, Ianto,” he retorted. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“Don’t think you can order me around, Jack,” Ianto said, turning away from Jack and looking back at Johnson. “This is going to have to be done quickly. My body will try to reject it, so one of you will have to inject me and the other will have to activate the machine instantly.”

“Damn it, Ianto! Tell me what you’re doing now, or…”

“Or what?” Ianto snapped, turning back to Jack and raising an eyebrow. “You’re chained to a wall with no weapon. You are not in a position to be making demands.” They glared at each other for a long moment before Ianto sighed, “Fine. We’re going to inject me with Stephen’s blood. It’s like you said, the children are on the same frequency as the 456. Injecting me with his blood should put me on the same frequency; at least temporarily. It’s mixed with hormone blockers so we should be able to trick the 456 into thinking I’m a pre-pubescent child.”

~

TBC


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Jack’s eyes widened. “You just said that your body will reject it.”

Ianto nodded. “It probably will. I don’t know. We haven’t done a transfusion since I became immortal. But, unlike many of the people in this room, I have got nothing to lose. If this works, we’ve finally stopped a threat you should have faced hundreds of years ago. If it doesn’t, we’ll have to think of another way. At least this way, no innocent lives are going to be lost as we try something that we’re not even sure will work.”

“Now,” he continued, “are you going to keep your mouth shut? Or do I have to shoot you again?”

Jack scowled and closed his mouth, his jaw setting as he glared fiercely at Ianto. He was certain that the assassin’s plan wouldn’t work, but if Ianto wanted to kill himself unnecessarily then who was he to argue?

Ianto crossed the room to the white circular disc that had been set up while he had been getting blood from Stephen. He nodded to Johnson as he stepped onto the disc and tightened the tourniquet around his bicep.

With shaking hands, Johnson brought the needle up and gently pressed it into his vein, trying to not hurt him. When he winced, she began to pull away, but Ianto shook his head, urging her to keep going. “I just have a phobia of needles,” he explained through gritted teeth.

When all the blood was inside Ianto’s body, Johnson stepped back and indicated that the machine should be activated. 

Jack flinched away, trying to block out the sound as an ear-splitting noise erupted from Ianto’s throat. “What the fuck?” he shouted over the noise as Ianto began to convulse. “What’s wrong with him?” he demanded, his gaze flicking between Ianto and Johnson. “Get him off of there, now!” he ordered.

Johnson’s men looked at her questioningly but she shook her head. Ianto had given her orders that Jack was to remain chained up until they had carried out the experiment and that was how he was going to stay.

Blood began to pour from Ianto’s nose and mouth as the convulsions grew and grew. 

Johnson looked away, horror clearly written over her face, and Jack wished he could do the same. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from his partner doing the most selfless thing he had ever done.

Suddenly the noise stopped and Ianto dropped to the floor in a crumpled pile, making Johnson scream in surprise. 

~

TBC


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

“Let me go,” Jack demanded instantly, tugging again at his binds. “It’s done. There’s nothing I can stop now. He’s not coming back to life without me.”

Johnson hesitated before nodding to the man behind her. “Let him go,” she said. Her voice was thick with tears as she turned away.

The instant the cuffs were free, Jack scrambled across the floor and pulled Ianto’s head into his lap. “Come on, Ianto,” he whispered, running his hand over his partner’s cheek, wincing at the coolness of his skin. “Time to wake up.”

Ianto remained still and Jack smoothed his hair down. “Come on,” he begged. He looked up when Johnson handed him a tissue to clean the blood from Ianto’s face. “Thanks,” he whispered, carefully dabbing the cloth at the liquid.

“How do you-,” Johnson choked on her words a little and shook her head. “What makes you so sure he’ll come back?” she asked. “It might have burnt him out.”

Jack shook his head. “That’s not possible,” he insisted, not sounding certain at all. “He’s like me. We’re fixed points in time and space. We come back; we always do. He-,”

He broke off when Ianto gasped back to life, making them all jump. “Easy,” Jack cooed, running his hand over Ianto’s chest, trying to soothe the erratic heartbeat he could feel under his palm. “I’ve got you.”

Ianto panted and flopped back against Jack’s chest, trying to breathe evenly once more. “Did it work?” he asked eventually, looking up at Johnson.

She didn’t even need to give the order, before one of her men radioed through to an operative on Floor 13. He gave her the nod and she smiled. 

“The 456 disappeared in a ball of fire, Sir,” the young man answered. 

“Good,” Ianto muttered, pushing himself to his feet with a grimace. “Give me my phone,” he instructed, pointing to the table. “I need to call Mark.”

The call was answered almost as soon as he had stopped dialling, with a frantic, “What the fuck was that?”

“Watch your language,” Ianto chided with a smile. “God it’s good to hear your voice. Are you and Julian okay?” he asked, fear creeping into his voice for his family.

“Yeah,” Mark answered. “We’re all okay. We just about managed to keep Mica and David out of trouble.”

“Along with a hundred other kids,” Julian called from the background.

Ianto frowned deeply. “A hundred?” he asked.

“Ignore him,” Mark muttered and Ianto could almost see him glaring at Julian. “What did you do? Actually, scratch that, I don’t care. Did it work?”

“I think so,” Ianto answered. “I hope so. Are you still in Cardiff?” He waited for Mark’s confirmation before adding, “Stay there. We’ll come to you. I’m not staying here to fix this mess. The government created it, they can sort it.”

~

TBC


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Alice looked up from the book she was reading, quickly reaching for her gun – she was the daughter on an assassin; she never went anywhere without one. 

She sighed when she saw Ianto standing in the doorway, but she didn’t put the weapon down. “Is he with you?” she spat, disgust lacing both her face and voice.

Ianto shook his head, holding his hands up to assure her that he meant no harm. “It’s just me, I swear.”

Alice sighed and placed the gun back on the nightstand, book marking her page and putting it down as well.

“How are you and Stephen doing?” Ianto asked, crossing the hotel room and sitting down on the bed next to his daughter.

Alice’s eyes travelled to the door on the opposite side of the room and she bit her lip to fight back tears. “He’s doing okay,” she whispered, trying to not cry.

“What about you?” Ianto asked, reaching out and placing a hand on her arm.

“I don’t know, Tad,” Alice snapped, shaking her head. “My father – my own fucking father – tried to sacrifice the life of my only son yesterday. I’m pissed off, hurt, angry, confused. Insert emotion here.”

Ianto sighed and pulled her into a tight hug. “I know,” he whispered, pressing a kiss against the top of her head. “Stephen’s safe. Nothing happened to him.”

“Why would he do that, Tad?” Alice asked, clutching the front of Ianto’s shirt as she cried. “Is it because you’ve got so many other descendants? Is it because I left you guys? Was he trying to punish me?”

Ianto shook his head. “Listen to me, Alice Melissa Harkness-Jones,” he instructed, ignoring her side comment about it being ‘Carter’ now, “not one single member of our family is more, or less, important than the other. Stephen is every bit as important as Mica and David. Don’t you ever think that for a second.”

“Then why?” Alice demanded as though Ianto knew the complete inner workings of his partner’s mind. “Why was he so willing to do it to me? To us?”

“I don’t know,” Ianto confessed. “I’m not even certain he knows. But I know I’m not going to let him hurt you. I swear that to you right now. My children, grandchildren – and all the rest – are the most important things in the world to me. I will protect you from anything and everything I possibly can. And if that means I have to protect you from your father, then I will.”

Alice fell silent, hugging Ianto tightly, before she spoke, “I’m leaving, Tad. I can’t stay in Cardiff knowing that he’s there and I could see him any time. I won’t be able to rest, knowing that he’s within reach of Stephen.”

Ianto nodded, choking back tears at the thought of his daughter leaving him. “Do you know where you’re going?” he asked. “I understand if you don’t want to tell me.”

“I don’t know yet,” Alice replied. “But it’s going to be far away from here; far away from him. But I will let you know where we’re going,” she assured him. “Stephen adores you. He won’t understand why Dad’s not there, but he’ll come to terms with it.”

Ianto smiled tightly, nodding his head. “Thank you,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “For not cutting me out of his life.”

“I couldn’t do that, Tad,” Alice assured him. “If anything you saved Stephen’s life. I owe it to you to make sure you stay in it.”

Ducking his head, Ianto pressed a kiss against Alice’s temple. “Can I… We’re going back to Cardiff soon. Do you mind if I say goodbye?” he asked, his voice cracking at the final word.

Alice shook her head. “Of course not,” she replied. “He’s probably sleeping, so you might have to wake him up.”

Ianto grinned and got to his feet. “That won’t be a problem. I’m used to having to wake children from their naps.”

Inside the second bedroom, Ianto found that Stephen was actually awake and lying on his side, watching the door as he waited for his Grandfather’s arrival. “You were supposed to be asleep,” Ianto scolded, closing the door behind him and entering the room.

Stephen smiled and pushed himself into an upright position, moving so he was sitting in his grandfather’s lap as Ianto sat down. “You’re leaving now, aren’t you?” he asked.

Ianto frowned deeply, about to ask how he knew before he realised that the hotel room walls weren’t extremely thick. “I have to go back to Cardiff and fix the Hub. The explosion destroyed it.”

“Can I come and help?” Stephen asked eagerly, looking up at Ianto with wide eyes that he found very hard to resist.

Ianto smiled through tears and pressed a kiss to Stephen’s forehead. “It’ll be too dangerous for you,” he whispered, not completely lying. “And your mum will need your help.”

“We’re moving away,” Stephen said regretfully. “Mum told me earlier. I’m not going back to Cardiff.”

Ianto sighed and hugged him tightly. “You’ll love your new house and school,” he tried to reassure his grandson, even though he didn’t know where they were going. “You’ll meet new friends and forget Cardiff even existed.”

“I don’t want to forget!” Stephen exclaimed, pushing himself away from looking up at Ianto. “I don’t want to,” he whispered, his voice quieter as he curled up with Ianto once more. “Are you and Granddad going to come with us?”

Ianto’s stomach twisted, as he replied, “Not immediately. We need to rebuild first and deal with the police and official people. But we’ll come visit when we can.”

“You promise you won’t forget me?” Stephen asked, looking up at Ianto and breaking his heart.

Ianto placed a hand under Stephen’s chin, forcing him to look up at him. “I could never – and will never - forget you. You’re my flesh and blood. Nothing in the universe could make me not remember you. Not even Retcon.”

He reached down and unfastened his watch. “I want you to have this,” he said, pulling it off and carefully sliding it onto Stephen’s wrist. “It’s too big now, but it’ll fit better when you’re older. If you’re ever lonely, or miss your Granddad and I, just look down at the time and we’ll be there, okay? Even if you can’t see us, we’ll always be there.”

~

TBC


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Ianto and Jack looked around them, both feeling a pang of sadness as they took in the sight before them. The Torchwood Hub had existed in the bay for centuries; longer than even Jack had been part of the Institute. Hiding away from the outside world until one single, tiny bomb had destroyed it completely.

“I hope Myfanwy got out,” Jack murmured sadly, looking up at the night sky.

The car journey from London to Cardiff had been… awkward. They had said goodbye to Cali, who had opted to stay in London for a while longer, before setting off back to their city.

Neither of them had really spoken much, other than to give directions or ask simple questions that received frosty one-word answers. Jack hadn’t even tried to discuss Stephen and Alice, and for that Ianto was glad. The assassin could barely even look at Jack; he didn’t think he’d be able to hold a conversation with him. 

But, as they stood looking out over the crater, Jack was emitting pain and regret, so, against his natural instincts, Ianto reached out and a hand on his partner’s arm. 

“She’s been with Torchwood almost as long as I have. She’s survived this long, I’m sure she had some kind of survival tactic up her wing,” he assured the Time Agent.

Jack looked a little surprised at the feel of Ianto’s touch on his arm, but he didn’t comment. Instead he laughed bitterly and shook his head. “Maybe the explosion ruptured the Rift enough to send her back home?” he offered, trying to sound hopeful even if he didn’t feel it.

“I think that would work,” Ianto murmured, moving his hand away and turning back to the mess in front of them. “God,” he breathed, looking at the damage in front of him. “This is going to take forever to clean up.”

The Captain let out another laugh, albeit a humourless one. “Then I’d say it’s a good job we have forever,” he murmured as Mark approached them. The twenty-nine year old looked exhausted and Jack suspected that he hadn’t slept for days, but he also knew there was no way he would agree to sleeping when so much needed to be done.

As Mark approached them, Jack sighed when he realised that the young man wouldn’t meet his father’s eyes. Instead, his gaze was focused entirely on Ianto; something that didn’t go unnoticed by the assassin. “How far down was the explosion?” Ianto asked.

“A mile in each direction,” Mark replied, jumping over a piece of debris and heading over to them. “That wipes out the morgue and top three levels of the archives. The garage is gone as well. Which means the car’s fucked; well the car that wasn’t stolen, that is.”

“That’s not as bad as I was expecting,” Ianto admitted. “At least the lower archives are still intact.”

Jack nodded his head distractedly. “That’s something, I suppose. All the valuable tech is down there. Some of that is irreplaceable.”

Mark stared at him and Jack had the eerie feeling that he was looking straight through him, before he turned back to Ianto. “Once we clear the debris from the top levels, we can get down and see how much damage was actually done to the structure of the Hub,” he informed the younger immortal.

A uniformed man headed over to them; one of the few people Ianto knew they could trust at the moment. “We’re ready, Grandpa,” he said, ignoring Jack; apparently news travelled fast in their family.

The Captain sighed heavily, earning himself a glare from Ianto, but the assassin didn’t speak. “You and Mark go ahead,” Ianto instructed Dan, nodding to Mark that it was okay to leave them alone.

“Did you tell every member of the family?” Jack snapped angrily once they were out of earshot.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. “Why? Does it bother you that they found out how much of a monster you really are?”

Jack punched Ianto. “I am not a monster. I was doing what I thought was right,” he hissed.

“And by doing so, you’ve made every single one of our children afraid that they could be the next on your hit list,” Ianto replied, grabbing Jack by the collar and turning him to face their family, who quickly made it look as though they hadn’t been watching.

“Look at them, Will,” Ianto ordered. “Every single one of those is afraid of what you’ve turned into.”

“I haven’t turned into anything,” Jack snapped, pulling himself away from Ianto.

“You have not been like this for a long time, Will,” Ianto replied, running his hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Maybe you need a break from this-,”

“What are you saying?” Jack asked in surprise.

Ianto heaved a sigh. “I’m saying that you need to get your head on straight again, Will. Look what you nearly did. Would you have done that to Cali, Gwyn, or any of the rest of our grandchildren?”

“Of course not!” Jack cried.

“Then why were you so willing to do it to Stephen?” Ianto retorted. “Look… We will rebuild the Hub together; god knows it’ll take all of us. But when it’s completed, I don’t want to see you again.”

Jack’s jaw dropped. “You’re… You’re breaking up with me?” he spluttered. “After all this time you’re leaving me?”

Ianto shook his head. “I’m not the one leaving, Will. You left when you decided Stephen was expendable. Call the Doctor; get him to take you somewhere to clear your head and figure out what’s wrong with you.”

He moved away from the Captain, his hands in his pockets, before turning back around to face him. “You know I love you, Will. I always have and I always will; nothing is going to change that. But there’s something seriously wrong with you, and you need to figure out what that is.”

~

 

TBC


	40. Chapter 40

Epilogue 

_Six Months Later_

The Hub was rebuilt. And, while it didn’t look anything like it had previously, it was fully functioning and the Torchwood team could once again make their memories in it. Memories that he probably wouldn’t be a part of, Jack Harkness thought bitterly as he stood on the dock, looking out over the water.

He thought back over the past six months and tried to figure out where his life had gone wrong. Somewhere along the line, he had taken a left turn instead of a right, and ended up in the position where him and his partner slept in different rooms, he was no longer trusted to be alone with his own Grandchildren and the entire family looked at him with suspicion in their eyes.

His head dropped forward and he closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the dock below him. Jack wasn’t sure who he was trying to kid; he knew perfectly well when his life had gone to Hell. It had been the day the 456 had made contact, all the way back in 1965. 

Giving them twelve children back then had been torture. The only consolation he could find was that the antidote they gave seemed to work and the few dozen affected had been cured. He had thought they were out of the woods; that the danger had passed. 

But he had been wrong. Oh, so very wrong indeed. 

Footsteps sounded on the dock beside him, but he didn’t turn his head. There was only one person brave enough to approach him now: only one person who had nothing to lose but another immortal life.

“Hey,” Ianto greeted.

The greeting was so familiar that Jack almost chuckled. They had barely spoken for months, yet there they were, standing on the dock trying to be civil to each other. “Hi,” Jack replied, not looking away from the water below.

“The Hub is rebuilt,” Ianto commented, leaning on the railings; mirroring Jack’s pose identically. 

Jack glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes. “Are you really sending me away?” he asked, a slightly incredulous tone creeping into his voice; he hadn’t thought Ianto was planning to keep his word.

Ianto sighed and turned so his back was against the railings. “It’s not sending you away, Will,” he whispered, looking over at the Captain.

Jack scoffed and shook his head. “Then what is it, Ianto? Is this because of what happened? I have tried to make up for that. Over these past six months, I-,”

“I know,” Ianto interrupted. “And you’ve been great, helping us rebuild the Hub and everything. But, Will…” He sighed again. “I don’t think you quite get just how out of character you were acting. And you’ve said it yourself; you don’t know why you tried to do that…”

“I don’t!” Jack cried indignantly, instantly ready to defend himself again.

“Then how do I know you won’t try and do it again?” Ianto countered. “If it was just me I had to worry about, you could stay. I’m not scared of you; I never have been. But I have to think about our children and grandchildren, Will. What would have happened if I hadn’t shot you?” 

Neither of them answered the question. They both knew what Jack would have done had Ianto not stopped him. 

“How can I trust you won’t fall back into that mind-set again? What if I’m not around to stop you? I can’t protect these children from you twenty-four hours a day, Will.”

Jack sighed and lowered his head, closing his eyes as though it would somehow block out the truth of Ianto’s words. “I know you can’t,” he eventually murmured. “And you’re right, you shouldn’t have to.”

Ianto reached out and turned Jack to face him. “Please don’t think that this is the end of us, Will,” he begged, looking into the Captain’s blue eyes. Jack got the feeling that he was trying to memorise everything about him. “I love you so much. And I want you to come back to me, but I can’t live with you when you’re like this. You’re not the man I fell in love with anymore and that terrifies me more than anything I’ve ever seen.”

Jack swallowed thickly around tears, refusing to let them show. “What about Mark?” he croaked when he had got his voice somewhat under control.

“He’s having a baby girl,” Ianto informed him; cupping Jack’s cheek with his hand. “Julian is trying to talk him out of painting everything pink.”

Jack chuckled lightly, trying to not burst into tears. “God, I’m going to miss so much of her life,” he breathed.

Ianto shook his head. “I’m going to record everything she does and take as many pictures as humanly – and alienly – possible. You’re not going to miss one single second, Will. And I swear she will know who her Granddaddy is,” he promised.

Their lips met in a soft kiss for the first time in months and Jack was surprised to taste salt on Ianto’s lips. He had clearly been crying not long ago. “I love you, Will,” Ianto whispered, running his hand down Jack’s neck and smiling sadly. “Please come back to me,” he begged, looking like the young man Jack remembered meeting at the Time Agency Centuries before. “I need you to come back to me.”

Jack smiled and held Ianto a little tighter for a moment, before releasing him and stepping back. “I promise I’ll figure out what’s been wrong with me,” he swore, kissing Ianto once more before the assassin could stop him.

Ianto squeezed Jack’s hand for a second before letting go. “Be careful,” he instructed, turning on his heel and heading towards the Millennium Centre and the newly rebuilt Plass, leaving Jack to contact the Doctor alone. 

The End


End file.
